‘Hormuz is Not Your Personal Casino’: Iranian Lawmaker Lambasts US Amid Trump Threats

Zurich, Switzerland: A senior Iranian parliamentarian sharply rebuked US President Donald Trump on Monday, asserting Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz as high-level diplomatic negotiations between Washington and Tehran unfolded in Switzerland.

Ebrahim Azizi, chairperson of the Iranian parliament’s National Security Committee, delivered the rebuke in a post on X.

“You make threats; we take action,” Azizi wrote.

“The Strait of Hormuz is neither your personal casino nor the backyard of modern-day pirates. These are Iranian sovereign waters, and the ultimate decision rests with the noble people of Iran and its brave armed forces,” his post read.

The statement comes as a US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance held talks with Iranian representatives in Zurich on Sunday. The discussions, aimed at easing longstanding tensions, were marred by several awkward and tense moments that quickly spread across social media.

Diplomatic Snubs and Friction

One widely circulated video appeared to show Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, warmly greeting Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief of Defence Forces General Asim Munir with hugs, while seemingly overlooking Vice President Vance, who was present. Observers described the interaction as a noticeable diplomatic snub.

On the Iranian side, officials rejected US-proposed formalities. According to Iran’s Tasnim news agency, Iranian chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declined to participate in a planned joint photo session and official handshake. The Iranian delegation also briefly walked out of the meeting room in protest, adding to the palpable friction during the talks, as per reports.

The negotiations occurred against a backdrop of heightened rhetoric from President Trump, who recently warned that the US would strike Iran “very hard” if Tehran failed to rein in its “highly paid proxies in Lebanon.”

The Zurich meeting represents one of the more direct high-level engagements between the two sides, though the series of uncomfortable episodes highlighted the deep-seated challenges in bridging differences.