Iranian Parliament Speaker Sends Sharp Warning to the U.S. After Beirut Strike

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf issued an unusually blunt message to the United States after the Israeli strike in Beirut’s Dahieh district. He said the attack proved once again that Washington either lacks the will or the ability to honor its commitments, and he questioned whether the emerging deal can move forward.

In his statement, Ghalibaf wrote that “the Zionist invasion of Dahieh” showed America has “no desire or ability to fulfill its obligations.” He added that “you cannot score points by giving the regime a green light,” dismissed the “good cop, bad cop” approach as outdated, and said that without the will and ability to meet commitments, “there can be no talk about the next step.”

The remarks came at a sensitive moment in Iran, where negotiations on a peace agreement with the United States are still underway. Although officials in Washington and Pakistan have assessed that an electronic signature could take place as soon as today, Tehran is still signaling that no final decision has been made.

Meanwhile, dozens of protesters took to the streets in Mashhad and Tehran to oppose the deal. Demonstrators chanted against Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and against Ghalibaf, and some calls explicitly demanded their resignation and even death. Conservative lawmakers and other hardline figures also intensified criticism of the talks, arguing that Iran is giving up major strategic assets for limited gains, including objections to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which they view as one of Tehran’s key pressure points against the West.