Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf described the US-Iran framework deal as “a declaration of US defeat,” saying Washington and Israel had miscalculated in launching the war.
“The Islamabad understanding was not the result of pressure and coercion, but rather the result of the resistance and authority of the brave Iranian nation,” Ghalibaf, who heads the Iranian negotiating team, told the PUIC parliamentary summit in Baku.
“The era of imposing will on independent nations is over,” he added.
His remarks came as technical talks under the 60-day framework continued, with Iranian and US negotiators still divided over key outstanding issues — most acutely on the future of the Strait of Hormuz and nuclear inspections in Iran.
US President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday that Tehran had assured Washington there would be “no tolls, no insurance costs, and no other charges of any kind” for ships passing through the crucial waterway, warning that if the information proved false, “negotiations would end immediately.”
Trump also said that the released Iranian funds would be spent exclusively on US food exports.
“The money and/or sanctions that the US Treasury is releasing will be used exclusively for the purchase of food and medical supplies, exclusively from the United States, including corn, Wheat, and soybeans from our great American farmers,” Trump explained.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei rejected that condition at a press briefing.
“With regard to Iran’s released assets, we will make decisions in whatever way serves the country’s interests and is most beneficial,” Baghaei said.
“Concerning the purchase of goods, our Ministry of Agriculture and other relevant authorities will decide based on both price and quality. Therefore, there are no restrictions in this regard.”
Hormuz situation murky
Meanwhile, the situation around the passage of cargo vessels through the Strait of Hormuz remained unclear.
US CENTCOM denied claims attributed to Iran’s IRGC, which said on Saturday it had closed the waterway again, citing “a clear breach” of the framework deal’s commitments.
Shipping data from tracking firm Kpler showed only five vessels transited the strait on Sunday, compared with 26 the day before. By Monday, the figure had risen to 35 — the busiest day since the war began, though still only around a third of pre-war traffic levels.
“There will be no tolls in the Hormuz Strait for 60 days during the cease-fire period, and there will be no tolls after the 60-day period has expired, unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America,” Trump said on Saturday.
The remark was followed by Ghalibaf telling Iran’s state-run media that the strait “will never return to its pre-war conditions” and that Iran would maintain authority over the waterway.
Iran and Oman issued a joint statement saying they were working to reach an agreement on how the waterway would be jointly managed and on “the services that will be provided in this regard and the costs associated with them in accordance with international standards.”
They emphasised their sovereignty over their territorial waters in the strait. Omani officials subsequently stressed that neither country intended to impose charges on commercial shipping and that any new mechanism would conform to international law.
Oman is also working with the International Maritime Organisation to establish a temporary transit corridor.
Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi travelled directly from Switzerland to Muscat to advance discussions on implementation.
“We see the future of the region not in confrontation but in interaction and not in elimination but in coexistence. Regional security must be ensured by the countries of the region themselves,” Ghalibaf said on Wednesday.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in Abu Dhabi at the start of a regional tour that takes in Kuwait and Bahrain, said Washington would not accept any fees on the strait.
“It’s an international waterway. No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway,” Rubio said. He said his visits would focus on Gulf states’ concerns about the MOU, which does not address Iran’s missile programme or its support for regional proxies.
Fresh dispute over nuclear inspections
Meanwhile, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, speaking from Japan, said inspection teams could visit Iranian sites within days. Tehran’s response made clear that timeline was not agreed.
Trump claimed Iran had “completely agreed” to nuclear inspections. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi flatly contradicted that.
“No meeting was held in Switzerland with Mr Grossi, despite his request,” he wrote on X.
“There is also no plan for access to the facilities that were attacked or for nuclear materials. These matters will only be addressed within the framework of a final agreement, and as a result of concrete action by the other side to fully lift all sanctions.”
One of the key mediators, Pakistan, announced the resumption of expert-level talks next week, involving Iran, the US, Pakistan, and Qatar.
Both sides said a direct communication channel between Tehran and Washington had been established to manage escalation during the negotiations.
The ongoing war between Israel and Iran’s proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon remains among the unresolved issues, with Tehran insisting that an end to fighting there is a key condition in reaching a final agreement with the US, while the current framework deal covers “all fronts,” Lebanon included.
Israel, which was not party to the agreement, rejects that reading. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, speaking at an international conference in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, said Hezbollah had fired more than 7,000 rockets, missiles and drones into Israel since March.
“What country can accept this and not act to restore security to its citizens?” he said.
Sa’ar said Israel had no serious dispute with the Lebanese government beyond minor border issues, but described Hezbollah as “the enemy of Lebanon’s future, sovereignty and independence, and also the enemy of Israel’s security.”
Hezbollah started the current round of fighting on 2 March, in what it said was its response to the death of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the initial US-Israeli strikes on Tehran at the beginning of the Iran war on 28 February.
Israel’s continued operations triggered Iran’s temporary suspension of the Swiss talks on 19 June and its brief closure of the Strait of Hormuz two days later. A second ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, brokered by the US, Qatar and Iran, took effect on 19 June, although Israel continued strikes after the deadline. Lebanese-Israeli talks are under way in Washington through Wednesday.
Israel has declared its intention to maintain a security zone up to the Litani River and has not committed to a full withdrawal, a position that remains the central obstacle to Iran signing off on any final agreement. Lebanon’s Health Ministry has recorded more than 3,700 deaths during the Israeli intervention since March.
Hezbollah is the strongest element in Tehran’s so-called Axis of Resistance, its network of regional proxies which also includes Houthis in Yemen, Hamas in Gaza and militias in Iraq.