Iran says it will 'immediately reciprocate' if US returns to June deal
BISHKEK — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday that Tehran would "immediately" reciprocate if the United States returned to a June deal aimed at ending their hostilities. Speaking at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Kyrgyzstan, Pezeshkian said, "I state explicitly that if the United States returns to its commitments under the aforementioned memorandum of understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately take reciprocal action," according to the website of the Iranian presidency.
The memorandum of understanding, described as a 14-point agreement in some reports, was aimed at ending months of hostilities between Tehran and Washington that began in late February with US and Israeli attacks on Iran that killed former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The deal later collapsed, with both sides accusing each other of violating its terms.
Pezeshkian accused Washington of reneging on the agreement less than two weeks after it was signed, according to a report from the Daily Excelsior. He said the recent US-Israeli attacks on Iran, which he cited as occurring on June 13, 2025, and February 28, 2026, were "clear violation of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, against the principle of prohibition of the use of force, and against the right to life." He also mentioned attacks on a school in Minab and a stadium in Lamerd in Fars Province as examples of what he described as "great crimes of the first day of a 40-day war."
Pezeshkian said Iran had a "brilliant record" of fulfilling its international obligations and warned that unilateralism, military force, unlawful sanctions, and geopolitical rivalry were undermining regional and global stability. He said the attacks represented an assault on an SCO member state and an "ancient civilisation," and thanked the organisation and member countries that condemned what Iran described as aggression.
In a later speech at the summit, Pezeshkian referred to "the repeated violation by the United States of its commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding," saying that "the absence of effective enforcement guarantees and a return to a policy of pressure and threats could derail the path of diplomacy." He added, "Iran has continued to regard diplomacy and negotiations as the primary path to resolving disputes. But diplomacy without good faith, without respect for commitments and without refraining from the use of force cannot create lasting peace."
The Strait of Hormuz remained a key point of contention, with the US and Iran resuming exchanging fire on Monday after more than a month of relative calm. Tehran has maintained its closure of the strategic waterway, while saying it would return to its commitments under the deal, which included reopening Hormuz if the United States did the same. The Hindu reported that Tehran insisted it would only open the Strait if Washington meets its demands of lifting its naval blockade on Iranian ports, removing oil sanctions, and unfreezing Iranian assets abroad.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also addressed the deal, saying, "The United States must return to its commitments and to what their president signed," and added, "In that case, everything can be put back on the right track."
The SCO summit, which Pezeshkian addressed, brings together 10 member states, 15 partner countries, and two observer countries, according to the Daily Excelsior.