Iran says deal to end Middle East war a ‘declaration of US defeat’

TEHRAN – Iran called the deal it struck to end the Middle East war “a declaration of America’s defeat” on June 24, as the top US diplomat kicked off a tour of Gulf countries hit hardest by Tehran.

The war that began with a massive US-Israeli campaign of strikes against Iran on Feb 28 ended with Iran striking an agreement its leaders have sought to portray as a victory.

The conflict sowed chaos in the region, with Tehran retaliating against its foes by blockading a key waterway for energy shipments and launching thousands of drones and missiles at its Gulf neighbours.

The US and Iran signed the agreement last week and launched a process aimed at reaching a permanent settlement, with Iran’s leadership transformed but the system of rule firmly in place.

“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,” Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, referring to the text finalised through Pakistani mediation.

“That is why the Islamabad memorandum of understanding became a declaration of America’s defeat,” he said, adding that security in the Middle East must be ensured by the countries of the region.

The US maintains several military bases across the Middle East, notably in the Gulf where US Secretary of State Marco Rubio kicked off a tour on June 24 in a bid to reassure allies.

Rubio arrived in the United Arab Emirates on June 23 and held closed-door talks with its leader, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, before flying to Kuwait and then Bahrain, where he will attend a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting.

Rubio said he intends to discuss the US-Iran memorandum of understanding with Gulf leaders, which does not address Iran’s missile programme and proxies – two longstanding concerns for Gulf nations and Israel.

Asked if he plans to address disquiet among America’s allies with the accord, Rubio replied: “That most certainly will come up in these discussions.”

Rubio insisted that no country is allowed to impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz after Oman and Iran, which border the waterway, said they are considering charging “costs” for navigating the key exit route for Gulf oil and gas.

“It’s an international waterway,” he said as he arrived in Abu Dhabi, repeating a position the US has stated throughout the war.

“No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway. That’s existing international law,” said Rubio.

Reiterating that stance, US President Donald Trump said on June 24 that Tehran has told Washington that no tolls are being sought from ships travelling through the Strait of Hormuz.

“Iran has informed the US that, despite troublemaking Fake News reporting to the contrary, there are ‘NO TOLLS, NO INSURANCE COSTS, & NO OTHER CHARGES OF ANY KIND BEING SOUGHT OR RECEIVED BY IRAN ON SHIPS TRAVELING THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ’ Trump wrote in a social media post.

“If this is false information, negotiations would end, immediately!” he said.

Ships have begun sailing through the Strait of Hormuz under a new scheme by the United Nations’ shipping agency to evacuate vessels trapped there by the conflict, a spokesman said on June 24.

The initiative, which has taken months to conclude, will enable hundreds of ships with some 11,000 seafarers stranded in the Gulf to sail through the strait.

At least two dry bulk ships and one cargo ship have sailed through Hormuz under the scheme in the past 12 hours, LSEG ship tracking data showed on June 24.

At least 35 other commercial ships, mainly dry bulk, cargo and container vessels were preparing to sail through the strait, according to LSEG and MarineTraffic ship tracking data.

But Iran was defiant, appearing to insist that the Gulf nations might do better by aligning themselves with Iran instead of with the West.

“We see the future of the region not in confrontation but in interaction, and not in elimination but in coexistence,” Ghalibaf said, in what appeared to be an overture to Gulf states targeted by Iranian strikes.

Iran’s chief negotiator also reiterated that peace in Lebanon is a fundamental pillar of reaching a definitive agreement with Washington.

“For us, the ceasefire in Lebanon has been, and is as important, as the ceasefire in Iran, and the end of the war in Lebanon has been as important as the end of the war in Iran,” he said.

In Lebanon, where Iran insisted a fragile ceasefire now in place was a precondition for a broader agreement, people in areas worst affected by Israeli bombing were struggling to clear rubble from their streets.

In the beachside city of Tyre, 40-year-old Hussein Hassan said he fled with his family to north Lebanon during the war but returned this week to reopen his barbershop.

Tyre residents “love life and work. We shake off the dust and rise up again like the phoenix”, he said proudly, while welcoming customers to his shop, one of its walls cracked and its glass facade blown away.

“Even if there are a dozen wars, we’ll come out from under the rubble and get back to work,” he said.

The push by Iran’s leaders to portray the agreement with the US as a win is also directed inwards, with some factional divisions and opposition to talks existing within the hierarchy.

Analysts say, however, that such splits will not suffice to derail the negotiating process.

“There are certainly factions seriously opposed to the talks and to any compromises with the US,” said Yale University lecturer Arash Azizi.

“But it is my assessment that they currently lack the institutional power necessary to block the talks or even do much to shape their outcome.”

Pakistan said on June 24 that technical talks will resume next week.

“I presume on (June 30),” Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told journalists in Islamabad, adding June 29 or July 1 were also possible dates.

One of the key sticking points has been Iran’s nuclear programme, long a source of friction with Western powers who suspect Tehran is building a bomb, a claim it has systematically denied.

Trump said on June 23 that Tehran “fully and completely agreed” to allow United Nations inspectors to return to the country, but Iran said it has no intention of doing so.

On June 24, the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog said inspections of Iranian nuclear sites are “going to happen”.

“Whether this happens today after tomorrow or in one week or in 10 days, it’s important but not essential. This is going to happen,” said Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. AFP