Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said Tehran will immediately reciprocate if the United States returns to its commitments under an interim agreement aimed at ending the conflict between the two countries.
Speaking at the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Tuesday, Mr Pezeshkian accused Washington of abandoning the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding less than two weeks after it was signed.
“If the US returns to its obligations in the aforementioned memorandum of understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately reciprocate,” he said, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA.
Mr Pezeshkian said the agreement followed almost three months of negotiations mediated by Pakistan and Qatar. Under its terms, Iran was to clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz and allow shipping to pass, while the US was expected to end its naval blockade, ease sanctions, issue waivers for Iranian oil exports and begin work on a reconstruction package.
He said Iran had responded proportionately to what he described as American breaches of the agreement.
“The US commitment to the document signed by the president of that country lasted less than two weeks, and that country’s excessive demands and reneging on its commitments began, which still continues,” Mr Pezeshkian said, according to IRNA.
Diplomatic efforts remain stalled
The comments came after the first direct exchange of attacks between the US and Iran in nearly a month. The US struck targets on Larak Island, according to reports, before Iran launched attacks on two American air bases in Jordan. ([aljazeera.com](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/1/iran-urges-us-to-honour-commitments-under-mou?utm_source=openai))
The latest escalation has further complicated efforts to revive diplomacy. A 60-day period set out in the June agreement for negotiations on a final settlement, including Iran’s nuclear programme, expired last month without a deal.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the “sincere implementation” of the memorandum remained the only way forward, while Qatar said it was working with other parties to find a peaceful solution and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. ([aljazeera.com](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/1/iran-urges-us-to-honour-commitments-under-mou?utm_source=openai))
The strategic waterway was open before the conflict, but Iranian attacks and restrictions on shipping, together with the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, have disrupted a major route for the global oil trade.
Mr Pezeshkian also told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that continuing the war was not in Iran’s interests or those of the wider region, according to Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper. He said Tehran remained committed to seeking “a path of agreement and understanding”. ([dawn.com](https://www.dawn.com/news/2026524/pakistan-iran-vow-to-pursue-lasting-regional-peace?utm_source=openai))
Separately, Iran’s armed forces said air defence units had been deployed at more than 3,800 locations across the country, including deserts, coastlines, islands and mountainous areas.
Iranian military officials said about 160 air defence personnel had been killed in clashes with the US and Israel since October 2024, while acknowledging that the country was increasingly seeking to rely on domestically produced systems. Claims about military losses and battlefield performance could not be independently verified.
