Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led Tehran’s delegation in recent talks with the United States in Islamabad, on Saturday accused US President Donald Trump of making multiple false claims.

In a post on X, Ghalibaf said, “The President of the United States made seven claims in one hour, all seven of which were false.”

Criticising the US administration, he added, “They did not win the war with these lies, and they will certainly not get anywhere in negotiations either.”

Ghalibaf also warned that if Washington continues its blockade, the Strait of Hormuz may not remain open. He stated that passage through the strait would be regulated via designated routes and subject to Iranian authorisation.

“Whether the strait is open or closed, and the rules governing it, will be determined in the field, not on social media,” he said, adding that media narratives would not influence the Iranian public.

He further urged audiences to rely on official sources, including statements from Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, for accurate updates on negotiations.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi on Friday confirmed the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, offering temporary relief for global shipping.

“In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is declared fully open for the duration of the ceasefire, along coordinated routes already announced by the Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Araghchi said in a post on X.

Responding to the development, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Iran had agreed not to close the strait again, calling it a move that would prevent its use as a “weapon against the world.”

However, he added that the naval blockade would remain in place until a broader “transaction” with Iran is completed.

U.S. President ​Donald Trump said on Thursday that ‌if a deal with Iran to conclude the war is reached and signed in Islamabad, ​he might go, and that Iran ​has agreed to almost everything, Reuters reported.

Trump struck ⁠an optimistic tone about Iran ​as he spoke with reporters on the ​White House lawn on his way to a trip to Nevada and Arizona. He said ​he could extend a U.S.-Iran ​ceasefire set to expire next week, but may ‌not ⁠need to do so.

“If a deal is signed in Islamabad I may go,” Trump said. “They want me.”

He also said ​without providing ​evidence ⁠that Iran has agreed to give up the enriched uranium ​believed buried from U.S.-Israeli airstrikes ​last ⁠year. Trump is pushing for a deal with Iran in which Tehran ⁠would ​give up its nuclear ​program.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades on ​Tuesday and both sides said they held positive discussions although it was not immediately clear if they agreed to a framework for peace, Reuters reported.

The meeting marked a rare encounter between representatives of governments ‌that have technically been in a state of war since Israel was established in 1948. They entered the talks with conflicting agendas, with Israel ruling out discussion of a ceasefire in Lebanon and demanding Beirut disarm Hezbollah.

The U.S. State Department released a statement after the meeting saying the two sides had “productive discussions on steps toward launching direct negotiations.”

It set out each country’s positions but did not say they had reached any common ground. “All sides agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue,” the statement ​said.

Speaking to reporters after the more than two-hour-long meeting in Washington, Yechiel Leiter, Israeli ambassador to the United States, said the Lebanese government made it clear during the talks that it will no longer ​be “occupied” by Iran-aligned Lebanese militia Hezbollah. He declined to say whether Israel would cease its attacks on Lebanon.

Lebanese ambassador Nada Moawad described the preliminary meeting as “constructive”. In a statement to ⁠Reuters, she said in the meeting she called for a ceasefire and the return of displaced people to their homes and measures to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon caused by the conflict.

The meeting comes at ​a critical juncture in the crisis in the Middle East, a week into a fragile ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran.

The wider conflict in the region began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. Hezbollah opened fire ​in support of Tehran on March 2, sparking an Israeli offensive that has killed more than 2,000 people and forced 1.2 million from their homes, according to Lebanese authorities.

The presence of Rubio, President Donald Trump’s top diplomat and national security adviser, signalled Washington’s desire to see progress.

Trump has urged Israel to scale back attacks in Lebanon apparently to avoid undermining the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. The Middle East conflict has led to the largest oil supply disruption in history, piling pressure on Trump to find an off-ramp, read the report.

Iran says Israel’s ​campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon must be included in any agreement to end the wider war in the Middle East, complicating talks mediated by Pakistan aimed at averting further economic fallout. Washington has pushed back, saying there is no ​link between the two sets of talks.

Speaking at the start of the meeting, Rubio acknowledged that Tuesday’s talks would not solve “all of the complexities” but he hoped they would help form a framework for peace.

Israeli ‌ambassador Leiter later ⁠expressed hope but did not mention a concrete way forward.

“What gives me hope is the fact that the Lebanese Government made it very clear that they will no longer be occupied by Hezbollah… This is an opportunity. This is the first time our two countries are sitting together in over three decades,” Leiter said, adding that there may be further talks in the coming weeks.

The Lebanese government led by President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has called for negotiations with Israel despite objections from Hezbollah, reflecting worsening tensions between the Shi’ite Muslim group and its opponents.

The Lebanese state has been seeking to disarm Hezbollah peacefully since a war between the militia and Israel in 2024. ​Any move by Lebanon to disarm it by force ​risks igniting conflict in a country shattered by ⁠civil war from 1975 to 1990. Moves against Hezbollah by a Western-backed government in 2008 prompted a short civil war.

The current government banned Hezbollah’s military wing after it opened fire on Israel last month.

Lebanese officials have said Moawad only has authority to discuss a ceasefire in Tuesday’s meeting while Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said Israel ​would not discuss a ceasefire, underscoring how at odds the two sides are.

In earlier remarks, Rubio said these talks were a process and not ​a one-off event. Leiter said ⁠there may be more talks soon but none of the participants mentioned a set time and a place.

“There were a few proposals, a few recommendations. We will of course bring these recommendations to our governments… and we will return in the next few weeks, we will continue to sit together. We will probably continue the talks in Washington,” Leiter said.

Rubio was hosting Tuesday’s talks amid questions over his lack of in-person participation in talks with Iran, with the Republican president sending ⁠Vice President ​JD Vance to Islamabad over the weekend to lead the U.S. negotiations, read the report.

Rubio was with Trump in Florida watching a mixed martial arts event ​as Vance announced in Pakistan that talks with the Iranians had concluded with no breakthrough.

State Department Counselor Michael Needham, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, and U.S. ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, a personal friend of Trump, were also participating in the talks on ​Tuesday.