'Era of one-sided deals is OVER,' Iran negotiator says amid Hormuz row

Iran's parliament speaker and chief negotiator with Washington, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, declared early Sunday that "the era of one-sided deals is OVER," issuing a stark warning to the United States as tensions over the blocked Strait of Hormuz escalated into open military exchanges between the two powers.

Warning to Washington

Ghalibaf published the defiant message on the social media platform X alongside an image of Article 5 from the June 18 Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding — the fragile framework deal governing regional security, with highlighted text stating that "the Islamic Republic of Iran will make arrangements" for any reopening. "The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking," he wrote, framing the post as a direct response to perceived American violations of the accord signed last month.

Missile strikes across Gulf

The statement landed hours after Iranian forces launched ballistic missiles and armed drones targeting US military bases across several Gulf states, prompting American retaliatory raids for the third consecutive day against radar sites in southern Iran, destroying command nodes near Bandar Abbas. Tehran's attacks followed the IRGC's announcement of the Strait of Hormuz's indefinite closure, with CENTCOM confirming that Iranian gunboats opened fire on commercial vessels and left one mariner missing.

The Islamabad Memorandum was initialed on June 18 in Pakistan's capital to halt the spiraling conflict that began when Washington and Tel Aviv commenced military operations against Iranian targets on February 28, sparking the worst regional crisis in decades.