With tensions again simmering between Tehran and Washington, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that a renewed US strategy built on pressure and threats could upend diplomatic moves to end the war in the Middle East.
Speaking at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan, Mr Pezeshkian said Washington’s “repeated violation” of its obligations under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding had exposed a critical vulnerability in the process.
“The repeated violation by the United States of its commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding showed that… the absence of effective enforcement guarantees and a return to a policy of pressure and threats could derail the path of diplomacy,” Mr Pezeshkian said.
He stressed that Iran still views talks as the central route out of confrontation, but argued that negotiations cannot succeed without adherence to promises and restraint.
“Iran has continued to regard diplomacy and negotiations as the primary path to resolving disputes. But diplomacy without good faith, without respect for commitments and without refraining from the use of force cannot create lasting peace,” he added.
Mr Pezeshkian said Tehran would respond without delay if the United States rejoined the June agreement intended to halt the fighting between the two countries.
“I state explicitly that if the United States returns to its commitments under the aforementioned memorandum of understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately take reciprocal action.”
The memorandum of understanding was designed to bring an end to months of hostilities between Tehran and Washington, which began in late February with the US and Israeli attacks on Iran that killed former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
The agreement later unravelled, with each side blaming the other for breaching its terms.
Mr Pezeshkian’s comments came as the Strait of Hormuz continued to loom over the dispute, and after Iran and the United States resumed exchanging fire yesterday following more than a month of relative calm.
The strikes came after the US said it attacked Iranian rocket launchers in the Strait of Hormuz
Tehran has kept the strategic waterway closed, while saying it would only reopen it if Washington meets demands under the deal: lifting its naval blockade on Iranian ports, removing oil sanctions, and unfreezing Iranian assets abroad.
Yesterday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi renewed the call for the United States to adhere to what was agreed.
“the United States must return to its commitments and to what their president signed” under the deal.
“In that case, everything can be put back on the right track,” he said.
