U.S. has violated ceasefire agreement, Iran parliamentary speaker says

Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, accused the U.S. on Wednesday of violating the two-week ceasefire agreement.

“The deep historical distrust we hold toward the United States stems from its repeated violations of all forms of commitments — a pattern that has regrettably been repeated once again,” Ghalibaf said in a statement posted on social media.

Three parts of Iran’s 10-point ceasefire proposal have been violated, Ghalibaf said. The violations are Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon, the entry of a drone into Iranian airspace, and the denial of the Islamic Republic’s right to enrich uranium, he said.

“In such situation, a bilateral ceasefire or negotiations is unreasonable,” the parliamentary speaker said. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Iran’s proposal was a workable basis for negotiations.

Vice President JD Vance addressed Ghalibaf’s allegations while traveling in Hungary on Wednesday.

“Ceasefires are always messy,” Vance said in response to the alleged drone incursion into Iran’s airspace. The vice president said the U.S. position is that Iran cannot enrich uranium. The ceasefire extending to Lebanon was never part of the agreement, he said.

“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” Vance said.

Ghalibaf’s statement comes less than a day after Trump said he agreed to halt attacks for two weeks in exchange for Iran allowing ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz during that period.

A large gulf has emerged between the U.S. and Iranian interpretations of the ceasefire since the agreement was announced Tuesday evening, particularly over the strait.

Trump said Tuesday that the ceasefire was subject to the complete, immediate and safe opening of the strait. But Iran plans to demand that ships pay tolls to pass through the vital sea route, according to a report in The Financial Times.

Trump wants the strait open “without limitation, including tolls,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday.

Iran state news agency Fars said earlier that oil tanker traffic through the strait has been halted as Israel continues to attack Lebanon.

The amount of tanker traffic through the strait has plunged during the war due to Iranian attacks, triggering the largest crude oil supply disruption in history. About 20% of global oil supplies passed through the strait before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.

Ship traffic through the strait has not picked up beyond the slow trickle observed during most of the war, freight and oil analysts have told CNBC.