Iran’s President Pezeshkian believes US memorandum only way out of stalled war

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has defended a memorandum of understanding with the United States as the best way to move beyond the current deadlock in the nearly six-month-old war, saying the agreement does not require Tehran to surrender.

In a speech published by state-run IRNA on Sunday, Pezeshkian said members of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council regarded the memorandum as the best possible agreement based on “dignity, wisdom and the national interest”.

“There is not a single provision in this agreement that amounts to capitulation,” Pezeshkian said, adding that Iran would follow the policies set by its supreme leader.

Tehran and Washington remain divided

The memorandum, signed by US President Donald Trump in June, set a 60-day deadline for ending the war with Iran and reaching an agreement over its nuclear programme.

That deadline expired last week, but Tehran and Washington remain far apart, particularly over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for global energy shipments.

Pezeshkian said Iran had no intention of backing down in the face of its adversaries but argued that the current state of “neither war nor peace” was damaging the country’s economic prospects.

“Capital and money are extremely sensitive to risk,” he said. “We have to remove this risk from the country.”

Iran’s economy has been hit by US sanctions and the naval blockade, which has severely restricted its ability to export oil, its most important source of revenue.

Separately, the new head of Iran’s top security body issued a stronger warning to neighbouring countries that support US threats to impose further sanctions on Tehran, signalling possible retaliation.

The warning comes as regional governments navigate pressure from both Tehran and Washington amid the continuing conflict and the disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Fresh violence in West Bank

Elsewhere in the Middle East, violence continued in the occupied West Bank.

A Palestinian man said he was beaten by an Israeli settler outside his home, while Israel’s military said its forces were pursuing a suspect in a separate stabbing attack.

The incidents come amid continuing tensions and violence in the occupied territory as the wider regional conflict remains unresolved.