Iran FM: US must honor Islamabad MoU it signed, or war continues

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that the United States must return to its commitments and the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) if it wants a way out of the current crisis, stressing that the Iranian nation remains steadfast in defending its rights.

Speaking after the first day of the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) heads of state summit in the Kyrgyz capital on Monday, Araghchi said his meetings with counterparts had been “completely businesslike and away from the usual formalities.”

He added that discussions focused on economic cooperation and other fields, while also addressing the United States’ aggressive attacks and their consequences.

“We emphasized that the Iranian nation will continue to stand firm to claim its rights, and this was stressed in all the meetings,” he said.

Araghchi noted that the Islamabad MoU, signed by the presidents of Iran and the United States, had been raised in every encounter. Washington has violated that understanding.

“The United States must return to its commitments and adhere to the provisions of the memorandum of understanding. After that, we can exit this situation, because all countries are concerned that the war end as soon as possible,” the foreign minister said.

“The solution is completely clear and specified. The United States must return to its commitments and to the same agreement that its president signed. In that case, everything can be put on the right track.”

Meanwhile, President Masoud Pezeshkian traveled to Bishkek with Araghchi to address both the SCO Council of Heads of State and the expanded SCO Plus format. The two-day gathering, hosted by Kyrgyzstan as current chair, runs under the slogan “25 Years of the SCO: Together Towards Sustainable Peace, Development and Prosperity.”

The Islamabad MoU, brokered with Pakistani mediation and signed in June, provided for an immediate halt to military operations, the lifting of the US naval blockade, Iranian arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz, a path toward sanctions relief, and a $300 billion reconstruction framework.

However, the US violated the deal by conducting deadly aerial assaults on Iran and imposing a naval blockade of the country.

Pakistan had previously played a pivotal role in securing the April 8 ceasefire that brought an end to the 40-day criminal US-Israeli aggression against Iran.

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Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that Tehran remains ready to implement the understanding if Washington honors the commitments its own president signed.

Iran has used the SCO platform to highlight multilateralism as a counterweight to unilateral pressure. At the earlier foreign ministers’ meeting in July, Araghchi warned that any country assisting US military operations against Iran could become a legitimate target and called on members not to allow “aggression to replace diplomacy, force to replace right, and double standards to replace justice.”

Iranian officials have consistently maintained that the path to de-escalation is not new negotiations on Washington’s terms but a return to the agreement already reached at the highest level. The Iranian nation, they stress, will not abandon its rights.

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