CAIRO, April 18. /TASS/. Tehran views US attempts to clear mines in Iranian waters as a violation of the ceasefire, said Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of the Majlis, Iran’s parliament.

"We resolutely opposed the US attempt to remove mines from our territorial waters and consider this a violation of the ceasefire," Ghalibaf said, according to the ISNA news agency. During talks in Islamabad, he threatened the American delegation with a strike on a US minesweeper if it "moved even slightly," the official said. Washington then ordered the vessel to be withdrawn, Ghalibaf added.

The Iranian politician also criticized the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. If the decision is not reversed, "shipping in the strait will be seriously restricted" as it is "completely controlled" by the Islamic Republic, he noted.