
Iran's parliament approves closure of Hormuz Strait after US strikes on nuclear sites
ISTANBUL: The Iranian parliament has approved a measure to close the Strait of Hormuz to naval traffic following United States (US) strikes on three nuclear facilities, a senior lawmaker said on Sunday, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported, citing local media.
'The parliament has reached the conclusion that the Strait of Hormuz should be closed,' Major General Esmaeil Kowsari, a member of the parliament's National Security Commission, said in statements carried by the state-run Press TV.
The Strait of Hormuz is considered the world's most important gateway for oil transport.
'The final decision in this regard lies with the Supreme National Security Council,' Kowsari added.
The Supreme National Security Council serves as Iran's highest security authority.
US President Donald Trump said early on Sunday that his forces had bombed three Iranian nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
The attacks came as the latest escalation in a US-backed Israeli military assault on Iran since June 13, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory attacks on Israel.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
‘Extremely dangerous' if Iran closes Strait of Hormuz: EU
BRUSSELS: The EU's top diplomat warned Monday it would be 'extremely dangerous' should Iran shut down the crucial Strait of Hormuz trading route over US strikes on its nuclear sites. 'Concerns of retaliation and this war escalating are huge,' Kaja Kallas told reporters as EU foreign ministers met in Brussels for talks, with the Iran-Israel conflict high on the agenda. 'Especially the closing of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran is something that would be extremely dangerous and not good for anybody,' she warned. Analysts have said Iran may opt to retaliate to Washington's early Sunday attack by shutting the Strait, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has urged China to help deter Iran from shutting down the trading route. The European Union has been urging de-escalation since the United States joined Israel's war with Iran by striking the country's nuclear sites. 'Ministers are very much focused on the diplomatic solution,' Kallas said Monday, having called on all sides at the weekend to 'step back' and return to negotiations. The EU foreign policy chief, who joined top diplomats from France, Germany and Britain for talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva Friday, said the European outreach would continue. 'There has to be a diplomatic solution,' Kallas said. 'When Iran is willing to talk to us. I think we have to use this opportunity.' France, Germany and Britain called jointly on Tehran on Sunday 'not to take any further action that could destabilise the region'. Speaking in Brussels, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot insisted Europe could bring to bear its long experience negotiating with Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. 'There is no lasting military solution to this problem,' Barrot said. 'Only negotiations can enable us to place long-term limits on Iran's nuclear programme.' 'Europe can bring its experience, its competence, its fine knowledge of these questions to open a space for negotiations,' he said. 'We reject any attempt to bring about regime change by force,' Barrot added, warning it would be 'illusory and dangerous' to think such a shift can be achieved with 'bombs'.


The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
IAEA seeks access to Iran nuclear sites to ‘account for' highly enriched uranium stockpiles
VIENNA: The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog on Monday called for its inspectors to be able to return to Iran's nuclear sites in a bid to 'account for' its highly enriched uranium stockpiles. He called for a cessation of hostilities. The request follows attacks by Israel and the United States on Iran's nuclear facilities. 'Iran, Israel and the Middle East need peace,' Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the organisation's board of governors in Vienna. 'For that, we must take a number of steps,' he said. 'First of all, we must return to the negotiating table and for that allow IAEA inspectors -- the guardians on our behalf of the NPT (nuclear non-proliferation treaty) -- to go back to Iran's nuclear sites and account for the stockpiles of uranium, including, most importantly, the 400 kilogrammes enriched to 60 percent.' Grossi said Tehran had sent him a letter on June 13 announcing the implementation of 'special measures to protect nuclear equipment and materials'. 'There needs to be a cessation of hostilities for the necessary safety and security conditions to prevail so that Iran can let IAEA teams into the sites to assess the situation,' he said. Over the weekend, the United States struck three Iranian nuclear sites, joining Israel's bombardments of Iran's nuclear programme. 'Craters are now visible at the Fordo site, Iran's main facility for enriching uranium at 60 percent, indicating the use of ground-penetrating munitions,' he said. He added that 'very significant damage' is expected to have occurred for the US bombing 'given the explosive payload utilised and the extreme vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges'. 'At this time, no-one including the IAEA, is in a position to have fully assessed the underground damage at Fordo,' he said. The US strikes came after Israel began launching large-scale attacks on Iran on June 13 targeting its missile and nuclear facilities, military leaders and security services, and residential sites. Iran's uranium enrichment has for decades caused tension, with Western powers voicing fears the drive is aimed at making an atomic bomb, a claim denied by Tehran. Israel has maintained ambiguity about its own atomic arsenal, neither officially confirming nor denying it exists, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute has estimated it has 90 nuclear warheads. European powers have urged Tehran to revive diplomatic efforts with the United States to find a solution in the standoff over its nuclear programme. Iran has said it can only consider diplomacy once Israel halts its bombardment of the Islamic republic.


New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Putin slams attack on Iran, but offers no support to key ally
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday slammed attacks on Iran as "unprovoked" and "unjustified" in a meeting with Tehran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, but did not announce any concrete support to his key ally in the Middle East. Moscow is a crucial backer of Iran, but has not swung forcefully behind its partner even as the United States launched strikes on its nuclear facilities over the weekend. "This absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran is unjustified," Putin said in televised remarks to Araghchi at the start of their meeting. Putin did not single out the US attacks, talking instead broadly of "strikes" against Iran, though the Kremlin had earlier Monday said it condemned and regretted the US strikes. "There has been a new escalation of tensions in the region, and, of course, we condemn this and express our deep regret in this regard," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, shortly before Putin met Araghchi in the Kremlin. Putin has pitched himself as a mediator between Iran and Israel, an idea rejected by US President Donald Trump last week. Since Israel launched its wave of strikes on June 13, triggering Iran to respond with missiles and drones, Russia has not publicly offered military help to Tehran. Putin and other officials have also downplayed Moscow's obligations under a sweeping strategic partnership agreement signed with Tehran just months ago, highlighting that it is not a mutual defence pact. Russia was "making efforts to help Iranian people," Putin said in the meeting, without elaborating. Asked what specific support Russia might offer, Peskov told reporters: "It all depends on what Iran needs. We have offered our mediation services." Putin said last week that Iran had not requested any support. Landing in Moscow on Sunday evening ahead of the meeting, Araghchi said the talks with Putin would be of "great importance," Russian state media reported. — AFP