Iran's parliament speaker Ghalibaf accuses US of violating ceasefire; Araghchi warns 'world is watching'

Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, accused the US on Wednesday (April 8) 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 added: 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.

“In such a situation, a bilateral ceasefire or negotiations is unreasonable,” the parliamentary speaker said. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (April 7) that Iran’s proposal was a workable basis for negotiations. The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. US oil prices fell more than 15% to around $95 per barrel by 2:59 pm ET as the fragile ceasefire appeared at risk of unraveling.

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Ghalibaf’s statement came less than a day after Trump agreed to halt attacks for two weeks in exchange for Iran allowing ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz during that period. Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also criticized Israeli claims over its attacks on Lebanon, saying the US must choose between a ceasefire or continued war via Israel.

Araghchi was reacting to the Israeli attack in and around Beirut that killed over a hundred people. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said earlier that strikes on Lebanon were not part of the ceasefire plan. “The Iran–US Ceasefire terms are clear and explicit: the U.S. must choose between a ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both," Araghchi wrote in a post on X, sharing a post by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declaring the ceasefire. “The world sees the massacres in Lebanon. The ball is in the US court, and the world is watching whether it will act on its commitments,” Araghchi added.

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