Iran warns Rubio: 'No one will be fooled' by US attempt to redefine MoU

Iran has strongly rejected US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's interpretation of the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding, insisting that the agreement mandates a comprehensive end to hostilities across the region.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei’s dismissal in a post on his X account on Wednesday came after Rubio claimed that negotiations between the US and Iran, and those between Israel and Lebanon, are "separate" tracks.

Speaking after arriving in Abu Dhabi for a three-nation Persian Gulf tour to brief regional allies on the US-Iran agreement, Rubio insisted that "the future of Lebanon belongs to the Lebanese people through their sovereign elected government" and that Washington would deal directly with Beirut.

The MoU, signed on June 17 and mediated by Pakistan, commits both sides to an "immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon", however.

"A careful reading of the MoU will see that when you talk about, for example, a complete end of hostilities in the entire region, well, that's not possible," Rubio claimed, his remarks coming after Israeli minister of military affairs Israel Katz said Tel Aviv "will not withdraw from southern Lebanon" even if requested by the US. 

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Rubio argued that "you can't have the end of hostilities and conflicts in the region as long as” resistance groups are launching missiles and drones. 

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Baghaei shot back, saying: "No one will be fooled" by such misinterpretation. 

"We can't have a peaceful region so long as American militarism and interventionism persist, and their occupying proxy continues, with absolute impunity, to inflict endless wars across the region and perpetrate genocide, terror violence and every atrocities.," he said, in a clear reference to Israel.

Rubio's interpretation of the MoU directly contradicts the understanding of both Iran and medicators, who view the document as mandating a comprehensive cessation of hostilities across all fronts.

A senior advisor to Iran's Leader, Mohammad Mokhber, recently warned that failure to implement the first clause of the MoU—which stipulates an end to the war "on all fronts"—would lead to a halt in energy flows across West Asia.

Iran had previously reclosed the Strait of Hormuz on June 20, citing Washington's failure to ensure Israeli compliance with the ceasefire in southern Lebanon.

Rubio's attempt to distinguish between the Lebanon-Israel and US-Iran tracks appears to be a strategic effort to sideline Tehran from decisions concerning Beirut's future.

However, the first round of high-level negotiations between Iran and the US in Switzerland has already established the MoU as the central framework for addressing all outstanding issues, including Lebanon.

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