Tehran [Iran], August 16 (ANI): The Iranian Parliament is set to hold a virtual session on Sunday to review crucial legislation aimed at overseeing the Strait of Hormuz and countering foreign influence, even as senior Iranian lawmakers launched sharp verbal attacks against US President Donald Trump over his threats regarding the strategic waterway.
According to Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, members of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee are set to examine the proposed “Smart Management Plan” for the Strait of Hormuz alongside a separate bill focused on combating international crimes and foreign interference.
The legislative review follows an announcement by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei that Tehran and Oman have finalised a joint shipping route map for the maritime corridor after weeks of technical negotiations.
The talks stem from an Iran-US memorandum of understanding that tasked Tehran and Muscat with formulating a new navigation framework for the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials have repeatedly emphasised that reopening the choke point remains strictly conditional on Washington fulfilling its obligations under the agreement.
Meanwhile, a Tehran lawmaker has taken a jab at US President Donald Trump, following his recent assertion that the United States would “soon” declare the Strait of Hormuz as US territory.
Taking to social media platform X, Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security Commission, mocked the US President and advised him to focus on his own security rather than issuing threats over the waterway.
“The US President ought to worry about his own security rather than his endless bluffing regarding the Strait of Hormuz before he ends up hiding in a food truck,” Azizi wrote on Saturday.
Azizi’s statement referenced recent comments made by Trump, who confirmed that he was moved between aircraft in Ankara due to security concerns raised by the Secret Service and the US military amid reported Iranian assassination threats.
The reference made by the Iranian lawmaker was for Trump’s departure from Ankara after the NATO summit in July. The US President had arrived in Turkey aboard a Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar and was publicly seen boarding the aircraft. However, according to a report by The Washington Post, Trump was later moved to a smaller C-32A military aircraft after being transported across the airport in a catering truck.
Tensions across the region remain high as Iranian lawmakers weigh statutory measures to assert control over the maritime passage while trade and diplomatic negotiations continue.
Meanwhile, Iran has said that it is nearing a final pact with Oman that will define new shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi had said on Saturday that those negotiations and the reopening of the waterway are “two separate issues”.
He said, “Whether the strait will be reopened or not will depend on the fulfilment of other conditions” by the US, including ending sanctions and releasing Iranian assets. (ANI)
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