Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf accused US President Donald Trump of making several false claims regarding the status of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s enriched uranium in a post on X/Twitter in the early morning hours of Saturday.
“The President of the United States made seven claims in one hour, all seven of which were false,” Ghalibaf wrote. “They did not win the war with these lies, and they will certainly not get anywhere in negotiations either.”
Ghalibaf urged all to “read the real and accurate news of the negotiations in the recent interview of the Foreign Ministry spokesman,” in which a Foreign Ministry spokesman claimed that Iran will not transfer its enriched uranium anywhere, contrary to earlier Trump claims that Iran had agreed to do so.
"Iran's enriched uranium is not going to be transferred anywhere; transferring uranium to the United States has not been an option for us," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said during an interview with Iranian state media.
Trump earlier told Reuters that Iran's "nuclear dust" would be retrieved "very soon."
"We're going to get it together. We're going to go in with Iran, at a nice leisurely pace, and go down and start excavating with big machinery... We'll bring it back to the United States," Trump added.
Major differences between US, Iran remain on Hormuz issue
Ghalibaf also disputed Trump’s assertion that Iran had announced that the Strait of Hormuz was “fully opened and ready for full passage.”
Trump, in a Friday post on Truth Social, stated that the Strait was "completely open and ready for business and full passage," noting that a US blockade on Iranian ports “will remain in full force and effect as it pertains to Iran, only, until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100% complete."
Ghalibaf rebuffed Trump’s claim, saying that “with the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open.”
“Passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be conducted based on the ‘designated route’ and with ‘Iranian authorization,’” he asserted.
“Whether the Strait is open or closed and the regulations governing it will be determined by the field, not by social media, ” Ghalibaf continued, potentially in reference to Trump’s social media announcement. “Media warfare and engineering public opinion are an important part of war, and the Iranian nation is not affected by these tricks.”
A senior Iranian official additionally told Reuters on Friday that significant differences between Iran and the US remain to reach a deal aimed at ending the war, adding that keeping the Strait of Hormuz open is "conditional on US adherence to the terms of the ceasefire."
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said "no agreement has been reached on the details of the nuclear issues," and serious negotiations are required to overcome differences.
He said Tehran hoped that a preliminary agreement could be reached in the coming days with mediator Pakistan’s efforts, with the possibility of extending the ceasefire to "create space for more talks on lifting sanctions on Iran and securing compensation for war damages."
"In exchange, Iran will provide assurances to the international community about the peaceful nature of its nuclear program," he said, adding that any other "narrative about the ongoing talks is a misrepresentation of the situation."
Tobias Holcman contributed to this report.