Pezeshkian voices Iran’s readiness to return to peace memo with US
Putin reaffirms support for Tehran after new sanctions
President Masoud Pezeshkian denounced the United States for violating the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) but said if Washington returns to its commitments, Tehran will immediately do so.
Addressing the 26th Summit of the Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Tuesday, Pezeshkian said the US began to make excessive demands and violate its obligations under the Islamabad MoU less than two weeks after its president, Donald Trump, signed it.
The US “honored its commitments to the document bearing the signature of its president for less than two weeks before beginning to make excessive demands and breach its commitments, a course that continues to this day,” he said.
“The violation of the US commitments was met with an appropriate response from Iran,” Pezeshkian added.
However, he noted that if the United States returns to its commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum, Iran will immediately do the same.
“Unlike the United States, my country has a distinguished record of honoring its international commitments and agreements and has always acted in accordance with the principles of international law,” the president said.
He also described the recent US-Israeli war against Iran as aggression against the fundamental principles of the UN Charter and international law.
The US and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28 by assassinating the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders as well as hundreds of others on the first day of the aggression.
Iran retaliated with attacks on the US military bases in regional countries and Israel’s positions in the occupied territories as the conflict continued to spread.
Forty days later, on April 8, Washington and Tel Aviv were forced to accept a ceasefire amid Iran’s resistance, successful retaliatory operations, and a powerful grip on the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran and Washington also signed the 14-point Memorandum of Understanding brokered by Pakistan and Qatar.
However, the US began attacking Iran in July after it violated the terms of the agreement under the pretext of Iranian strikes on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US also recently shifted toward a campaign of what it calls “economic asphyxiation” of Iran, imposing sanctions on various sectors in Iran.
Moscow’s support for Tehran
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was also presence at the summit, reaffirmed Moscow’s support for Tehran and its commitment to maintaining close economic ties.
Putin said Russia would continue to strengthen trade and economic cooperation with Iran despite mounting external pressure and rising tensions in the region.
“The Russian people stand in solidarity with the people of Iran in fighting for their interests,” Putin told Pezeshkian during a meeting on the sidelines of the SCO summit.