“Victory lap in Tehran: Iran’s parliament speaker says ‘we got what we wanted’ from the US”

TEHRAN, April 19 — Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, said Tehran had “won on the battlefield” during recent weeks of conflict and only agreed to a temporary ceasefire with the United States after its conditions were met.

The two-week truce is due to expire on Wednesday unless extended, while negotiations for a lasting agreement remain incomplete, with mediators including Pakistan continuing efforts to bridge key differences.

“We were victorious in the field,” Ghalibaf said in a televised national address, adding that the United States had failed to achieve its objectives and that Iran maintained control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

He said Iran agreed to the ceasefire because its demands had been accepted, stressing that “negotiation is a form of struggle” used to secure national rights.

Ghalibaf also said Iran’s delegation held closed-door talks in Islamabad with US Vice President JD Vance on April 11 — the highest-level contact between the two countries since before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

While no final agreement was reached, discussions are reportedly ongoing, although Iranian officials say no date has been set for the next round of talks. — AFP