Iran's Ghalibaf says MoU ‘became a declaration of US defeat’

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday that security in the Middle East should be provided by countries in the region, as he traveled to Baku for a meeting of parliaments from Muslim-majority states.

"Security in the region must be provided by the countries of the region themselves," Ghalibaf said.

"No one’s security should depend on the insecurity of others," he added.

Ghalibaf was attending the 20th meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation member states in Azerbaijan’s capital.

He said regional conditions had changed since the recent war and that the meeting would give Iran a chance to explain developments following the conflict.

"The resistance of the Iranian people showed that the era of imposing one’s will on independent nations has ended," Ghalibaf said, adding that this had drawn admiration internationally.

Airlines should continue to avoid airspace over Iran, Iraq and Lebanon despite a framework deal between Washington and Tehran, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency said on Wednesday, warning that ceasefire violations remained possible.

EASA extended its conflict-zone advisory for the region until July 1.

The agency said short-term violations of the US-Iran ceasefire remained possible, especially in and around the Strait of Hormuz and neighboring airspace.

It also cited the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah as a risk to flights over Lebanon.

EASA urged airlines to take potential risks into account when flying in the airspace of Bahrain, Kuwait, Israel, Jordan, Qatar, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

An Iranian lawmaker accused Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Wednesday of pursuing negotiations with the United States against Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s stated red lines.

“He is conducting and advancing the negotiations against all the Leader’s red lines,” Kamran Ghazanfari said. “Whatever the Leader has said not to do, he has done the opposite.”

He said Ghalibaf had shut parliament to accept a ceasefire with the United States and Israel and begin talks with Washington without facing obstacles.

He dismissed as “completely false” claims that parliament sessions were suspended by a Supreme National Security Council decision.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf traveled to Baku, Azerbaijan, on Wednesday to attend the 20th meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC member states.

He said regional conditions had changed since the war and should be viewed differently.

Ghalibaf said the Baku meeting would offer an opportunity to explain developments after the recent conflict.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said a hotline between the United States and Iran was essential to prevent rogue actors from disrupting the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

He told the FT that the hotline, agreed during talks in Switzerland, was needed to counter disinformation and ensure coordination while mines were cleared from the crucial waterway.

Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar expected to resume normal liquefied natural gas production within “a few weeks,” according to the report.