Tehran [Iran], November 15 (ANI): Denouncing Washington's policies towards Tehran, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf has underscored that the Islamic Republic refuses to remain trapped in a condition of "neither war nor peace", according to Mehr, a semi-official Iranian news agency.
Addressing lawmakers during an open session of parliament on Sunday, the legislative chief asserted, “We do not care whether the US chooses the path of negotiations or war. If it accepts our seven reasonable conditions, the door to an agreement will be open.”
Warning the US against committing further miscalculations, Qalibaf cautioned that the nation's formidable armed forces would dictate the territorial parameters of any ensuing conflict.
On a national commemorative occasion dedicated to the aerospace sector and marking the death anniversary of Major General Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, widely recognised as the architect of the country's missile development, the speaker also paid tribute to industry commanders.
Highlighting the strategic milestones achieved by the IRGC Aerospace Force, Qalibaf noted how the division had leveraged its foundational principles to turn obstacles into advantages, as reported by Mehr.
He stated that the force had successfully countered strategies pursued by foreign adversaries while inspiring populations across the region and supporting Palestinian youth. Emphasising its achievements, he said, “Today, the Aerospace Force of the country, relying upon the divine principles and Quranic tenet, has turned 'impossible' into 'possible', threats into opportunities and also frustrated all the malicious plots orchestrated by the criminal Zionist regime and the terrorist US government against Iran, bestowing hope and dignity to the resilient people of Iran, freedom-seeking nations of the region and the world, particularly, the oppressed children of Palestine.”
Turning his attention to remarks delivered by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Qalibaf dismissed them as reflecting diplomatic frustration.
“The absurd statements and immoral language of the US Treasury Secretary reveal their profound desperation in the face of the Islamic Republic’s authority on the international stage. Someone who has fled their own home for military bunkers out of fear of looming threats would do better to reflect on their strategic failures in the Persian Gulf, rather than insulting great and heroic nations,” he said.
The top parliamentarian reiterated that such provocative rhetoric merely exposed profound uneasiness regarding the expanding international influence of the Iranian state, with Mehr highlighting the condemnation.
Meanwhile, tensions between Iran and the United States have also extended to military installations in the Gulf region. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its forces carried out a drone attack targeting a US radar system at a military base in Bahrain, according to an official release broadcast by Iranian state media.
Elaborating on the military operation in a statement published via Telegram by the state broadcaster, the IRGC said, “The US air defence radar system at the Al-Riffa helicopter base in Bahrain was targeted by six drones belonging to the IRGC Aerospace Force.”
Earlier, Bahrain's Interior Ministry had released two separate advisory alerts on the social media platform X, warning of potential security hazards. This marked the Gulf nation's first warnings of this nature since September.
Adding to concerns over Iran's military capabilities, a report by The Wall Street Journal, citing US intelligence officials, said Tehran could still possess up to 2,500 missiles in its arsenal.
The assessment follows claims by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that it had recently struck the radar of a US air defence site at Riffa Air Base in Bahrain in retaliation for US military actions.
Despite months of sustained US and Israeli strikes aimed at crippling its weapons infrastructure, intelligence officials estimate that Iran retains between 1,500 and 2,500 missiles, according to the Journal's report.
Alongside these developments, tensions have also escalated around the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. Three oil tankers exploded and caught fire after striking naval mines in and around the waterway, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy and Armed Forces' Navy said on Saturday (local time), as Iranian forces warned vessels against entering restricted maritime areas.
According to Iranian state media outlet Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the IRGC Navy said in a recent statement that two oil tankers attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz without authorisation had exploded and caught fire after hitting naval mines.
Explaining the circumstances of the incidents, the IRGC Navy said the vessels had been attempting to navigate the strategically important waterway secretly, with their navigation and automatic identification systems switched off.
"An hour ago, two offending oil tankers, which were secretly attempting to transit the unauthorised Strait of Hormuz with their navigation and automatic identification systems turned off, exploded and caught fire after hitting naval mines," the statement said, as reported by IRIB.
The Iranian naval force further claimed that two other tankers attempting to pass through the strait had turned back after receiving warnings from the IRGC's Naval Traffic Control Centre.
"After the explosion of these two tankers, two other tankers that were attempting to secretly pass through the Strait of Hormuz heeded warnings from the IRGC's Naval Traffic Control Centre and returned to the waters of the Persian Gulf," the statement added.
In a separate statement, the Armed Forces Navy also reported an incident involving another oil tanker east of the Strait of Hormuz, claiming that the vessel had caught fire after striking a naval mine.
According to its Public Relations department, the tanker had been operating in what it described as an unsafe and prohibited area despite earlier warnings. It had also switched off its tracking and identification systems.
"This morning, an oil tanker that had been operating in the unsafe and prohibited area east of the Strait of Hormuz, ignoring previous warnings and turning off its tracking and identification systems, caught fire and stopped after hitting a naval mine," the statement said.
Following the incident, the Armed Forces' Navy warned other shipping operators that vessels entering the restricted maritime zone would face similar consequences.
"Without a doubt, any offending tanker that travels in the restricted area east of the Strait of Hormuz will be set on fire by hitting naval mines," it said.
The statement also criticised tanker owners for sending vessels into the restricted area, accusing them of relying on assurances from US President Donald Trump.
"It is unfortunate that tanker owners, without learning from the fate of other offending vessels, trusting the nonsense of the criminal US president, are sending their capital into the mine war and throwing it into the fire," the statement added.
These developments come amid escalating tensions involving Iran, the United States and Israel, with the Strait of Hormuz emerging as a key flashpoint in the ongoing West Asia conflict. (ANI)
Iran not remain in state of "neither war nor peace": Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf
