Iran President Pezeshkian says Tehran will reciprocate if US honours interim deal

DUBAI: Iran will immediately reciprocate if the United States returns to its commitments under an interim deal signed in June, President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday, as tensions between Tehran and Washington escalated following a fresh exchange of direct attacks.

He made his comments at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Bishkek after the first exchange of direct attacks in the US-Iran conflict since late July, with the US striking Larak Island and Iran then launching attacks on two US air bases in Jordan.

“I am stating clearly that if the US returns to its commitments under the Memorandum of Understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately reciprocate,” Pezeshkian was quoted as saying by state media.

He was referring to an interim deal signed in June between Tehran and Washington in efforts to end the war, which started with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. The deal quickly unravelled amid disagreements over its implementation.

Tehran has repeatedly said it will allow free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global oil supplies, only if Washington implements the terms of the agreement.

Pezeshkian said in Bishkek on Monday that war was in no one’s interest and that Tehran was still open to a negotiated solution in its conflict with Washington.

US President Donald Trump told Fox News “there will be a response” following the Iranian attacks but told reporters in the Oval Office that the renewed strikes did not signal a return to full-scale war.