Top Iranian negotiator calls deal a ‘declaration of US defeat’

“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,” Ghalibaf said during a conference in Azerbaijan. “That is why the Islamabad memorandum of understanding became a declaration of America’s defeat.”

The memorandum of understanding was touted as an agreement that would unlock the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil transit shipping lane. In exchange for Iran opening up the water passageway “with no charge for 60 days,” Trump agreed to lift a naval blockade in the area that had prohibited Iranian ships from entering or exiting ports.

Since the agreement, oil tankers have begun to sail through the strait in higher numbers. At least 172 vessels crossed through the Strait of Hormuz from Thursday through Monday, according to data from maritime intelligence firm Kpler.  Activity has not yet returned to pre-war levels, averaging around 138 crossings per day. There were more than 400 large ships remaining halted outside the strait as of Monday. However, as of Wednesday, the U.N.’s shipping ​agency has become involved in the effort to aid trapped vessels, as the International Maritime Organization helps hundreds of ships with some 11,000 stranded seafarers sail through ​Hormuz.

Despite the terms of the MOU, which stipulated there would be no tolls in the water passageway, Iran has since suggested there could be some costs associated with sailing through, triggering backlash from Trump.

“Iran has informed the U.S. 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 said in a post to Truth Social on Wednesday. “If this is false information, negotiations would end, immediately!”

Agreements made in the memorandum of understanding are set to expire in 60 days. However, the U.S. is aiming to reach a permanent agreement within that time frame to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. The most significant point the two countries are negotiating during the roughly two-month period is a final deal on Iran’s nuclear program.

The U.S. has said that Iran will allow inspectors back into the country to investigate fears it is enriching uranium and building nuclear weapons. Iran has emphasized that “no new commitments” have been made on nuclear inspection, even as the United Nations’ nuclear chief promised Wednesday that inspections “would indeed take place.”

International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Mariano Grossi’s remarks were met with disdain from Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi, who said in a post to X that any such inspections could only take place “within the framework of a final agreement and as a result of practical action by the other side to end all sanctions and other measures.”

TOP IRANIAN OFFICIALS LAND IN OMAN TO DISCUSS MANAGING STRAIT OF HORMUZ

As negotiations continue to play out, Trump said Tuesday there was “no rush” in sending inspectors. 

“They’ll be on the ground at the appropriate time,” he said.