Ghalibaf says US Naval Blockade Aims to Make Iran ‘Collapse from Within’, Urges Unity

TEHRAN: Iran’s Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated that the United States’ naval blockade of the country aims to create division and “make us collapse from within”, calling for “maintaining unity” as the only solution.

Ghalibaf, an influential figure, has grown in prominence since the start of the Middle East war and was the lead negotiator in the so far only round of direct US-Iranian talks.

He says US President Donald Trump “divides the country into two groups: hardliners and moderates, and then immediately talks about a naval blockade to force Iran into submission through economic pressure and internal discord”, state TV reported.

“The enemy has entered a new phase and wants to activate economic pressure and internal division through naval blockade and media hype to weaken or even make us collapse from within,” Ghalibaf adds, calling for “maintaining unity” as the only solution.

The United States has been blockading Iranian ports in retaliation for Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for oil and gas.