IRAN will immediately reciprocate if the United States returns to its commitments under an interim agreement signed in June, President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday, as tensions between Tehran and Washington escalated following their first direct exchange of attacks since late July.
Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Bishkek, Pezeshkian said Tehran remained prepared to respond to US compliance with the agreement, which was intended to provide a framework for ending the conflict.
“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," Pezeshkian was quoted as saying by state media.
His remarks came after the United States struck Larak Island, prompting Iran to launch attacks on two US air bases in Jordan.
The June interim agreement was reached between Tehran and Washington as part of efforts to end a war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. However, the arrangement quickly unravelled amid disagreements over its implementation.
Tehran has repeatedly linked freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global oil supplies, to Washington’s implementation of the agreement.
Reuters cited Pezeshkian saying in Bishkek on Monday that war was in no one’s interest and that Tehran remained open to a negotiated solution to its conflict with Washington.
US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, told Fox News that “there will be a response” following the Iranian attacks, although he later told reporters in the Oval Office that the renewed strikes did not signal a return to full-scale war. - September 1, 2026
