Ghalibaf Counters Criticism of Switzerland Talks: "More Blood Would Have Been Shed"

Iranian Parliament Speaker Leads High-Level Talks
Publicly Counters Domestic Criticism in Iran
Heads Straight to Oman for Strait of Hormuz Management and Operations Discussion

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament and head of Iran's delegation for the end-of-war negotiations with the United States, has directly countered criticism from Iranian hardliners regarding the US-Iran talks held in Switzerland.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, attended high-level negotiations with the United States held on the 20th (local time) at the Burgenstock Resort in Switzerland. / Photo by Reuters

On June 23, through his social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Speaker Ghalibaf stated, "A national TV program said that the airport should have been closed to prevent the negotiating team from traveling to Switzerland," and added, "If we had not gone to Switzerland, more blood of Muslims and Shiites would have been shed in Lebanon."

Iran International commented that these remarks are interpreted as Speaker Ghalibaf publicly advocating for the necessity of negotiations at a time when internal opposition in Iran to the recent high-level talks with the United States is growing. Previously, after news broke on June 17 that Iran and the US had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for end-of-war negotiations, Iranian hardliners strongly condemned the negotiating faction, accusing them of surrendering to the United States.

After conducting 18 hours of high-level meetings with the US delegation in Switzerland, Speaker Ghalibaf is currently staying in Oman. On the previous day, he departed from Iran and traveled to Muscat, the capital of Oman, together with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, to discuss the operation and management of the Strait of Hormuz. Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi stated on his own X account, "We reaffirmed our commitment to compliance with international law and to safe, toll-free passage through the [Strait of Hormuz]," and noted that they discussed provisions related to the Strait of Hormuz included in the MOU.

According to the ceasefire agreement, Iran will gradually open the strait while removing naval mines placed there for 30 days, and will not collect any transit fees during the subsequent 60-day negotiation period, including this process. However, there is a possibility that Iran may effectively impose a transit fee on vessels under the pretext of a 'service charge' for services provided. Iran has yet to clarify what specific services it intends to offer.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.