Continued violations of war-ending MoU with Iran prove US cannot be trusted: Analyst

By Alireza Kamandi

Continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon and US airstrikes on Iranian territory are evidence that Washington cannot be trusted to uphold any understanding or agreement, says an analyst.

In an interview with the Press TV website, Dr. Daud Abdullah, director of the Middle East Monitor (MEMO) and former deputy secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, commented on the first clause of the Iran-US memorandum of understanding (MoU), which calls for the immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon.

The United States is unwilling and, in some instances, apparently unable to rein in the current Israeli leadership, which has been described as the most extreme and violent in the history of the Zionist regime, he said.

“We continue to see significant violations of the MoU's terms, particularly with regard to Lebanon, but this is not a new phenomenon. Since the signing of the cessation of hostilities in Gaza, more than 1,000 people have been killed, and attacks on civilians continue unabated. This is the nature of the Zionist regime: violent, aggressive, expansionist, and unwilling to adhere to international norms,” Dr. Abdullah stated.

On the fifth paragraph of the MoU, which places responsibility for arranging the safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz with Iran, Dr. Abdullah noted that the Americans interpret the relevant document to mean that the Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway, refusing to acknowledge Iran's territorial rights.

Every state with access to the sea has a 12-mile territorial border extending into its waters, but the Americans appear unwilling to accept this, he told the Press TV website.

“Iran wishes to administer the passage of ships – for example, through the payment of fees for assistance and direction. The Americans insist that no fees of any kind should be charged. Recent reports indicate the US attempted to coordinate an alternative shipping route near Oman's territorial waters, which Iran views as a direct infringement on its authority under the MoU, representing a clear violation designed to undermine Iran's legitimate security role.”

Concerning the recent US airstrikes on Iran's southern coastal areas, Dr. Abdullah stated that this should not be surprising. He said the US has continued to threaten force against Iran throughout the negotiations and after that.

“Iran has the right to defend its territorial integrity as well as its territorial waters. Even if the Americans argue this is an international waterway, it is hard to prove conclusively, as Iran is entitled to certain limits of territorial waters bordering its landmass”, he told the Press TV website.

When asked whether the US can ever be trusted to uphold an agreement with Iran, given its long history of interfering in the West Asia region and its recent actions in supporting the Israeli aggression in Lebanon, Dr. Abdullah pointed out that the US signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015 with all the European powers to monitor Iran's nuclear program and then withdrew unilaterally.

This was followed by negotiations in Geneva in June 2025, during which the US launched an attack on Iran. Similarly, in the case of the February 28 attack on Iran, the Omani foreign minister had stated that an agreement would be reached within two days, yet the Americans, along with Israel, launched the attack regardless.

Regarding whether the Iran-US MoU represents a victory for the Islamic Republic, Dr. Abdullah said what this agreement signifies is that the Americans did not achieve the goals they had initially set out when they launched their attack on February 28.

“Their objectives were to decapitate the government in Iran, overthrow its leadership, and install a new one – creating a state of confusion and a popular uprising against the Islamic Republic. That did not happen. In that sense, because the Islamic Republic has survived, one could rightly describe this as a victory in itself,” he said.

“Similarly, despite American claims after 2025 that they had destroyed more than 90% of Iran's missile capability and obliterated its nuclear program, today they clearly want to negotiate on these issues. This indicates that they still feel they need to achieve what they set out to do in 2026. In that sense again, Iran would be within its rights to declare itself successful in thwarting the machinations of the United States and its ally, Israel.”

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