President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran will immediately reciprocate if the United States returns to its commitments under an interim deal signed in June.
AFP reported that he made the comments at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
The statement came after the first exchange of direct attacks in the U.S.-Iran conflict since late July, with the U.S. striking Larak Island and Iran then launching attacks on two U.S. air bases in Jordan.
Pezeshkian was quoted by Iranian state media as saying, “I am stating clearly that if the U.S. returns to its commitments under the Memorandum of Understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately reciprocate.”
He was referring to an interim deal signed in June between Tehran and Washington in efforts to end the war, which started with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
Pezeshkian said the framework agreement lasted less than two weeks before Washington began making “excessive demands” and failing to honour its commitments.
He said, “It is self-evident that the violation of the US commitments was met with an appropriate response from Iran,” without elaborating on the measures taken by Tehran.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, also urged the U.S. on Monday to “return to its commitments and to what their president signed.”
He added, “In that case, everything can be put back on the right track.”
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.
He was scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit later on Tuesday.
U.S. 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.
