By Sadiq Abdulfatah

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has vowed that the deaths of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and other victims of what he described as unprovoked US-Israeli aggression against Iran would not go unanswered.

Qalibaf made the remarks on Tuesday while commemorating the 168 people killed in an attack on a school in the southern Iranian city of Minab during the opening airstrikes of the February 28-April 7 conflict. Most of those killed were schoolchildren.

He said Iran, under the leadership of Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, son and successor of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, would use all available means to defend the rights of the Iranian people, end the aggression and punish those responsible.

Qalibaf also said Iran would protect its national unity and resilience, warning against attempts to weaken public support for the Islamic Republic or reduce the determination of its officials.

He expressed confidence that Iran would overcome what he described as a major national test, saying the country would ultimately achieve victory.

On the Strait of Hormuz, Qalibaf said Iran would not reopen the strategic waterway unless the United States lifted what Tehran considers an illegal naval blockade against the country.

He said the reopening of the strait would also depend on the unfreezing of Iranian assets, the removal of oil sanctions and an end to military threats and attacks. He added that the conditions agreed in a memorandum of understanding signed between Tehran and Washington in June would also have to be fulfilled.

Qalibaf further warned that Iran was prepared to respond with what he called an even heavier defeat for its opponents if there were further violations.

He described the June understanding as evidence of what he called a US defeat in the legal and political spheres. According to Qalibaf, Washington accepted the agreement after Iran’s retaliation and later declared a unilateral ceasefire on April 7.

He accused the United States of violating the understanding and said the actions were an attempt to recover from what he described as its political defeat.

Source: Press TV