'Always a day late and a dollar short': US official on Iran as Trump considers limited strikes again amid deal deadlock

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan — Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian declared on Tuesday that Tehran would promptly respond if the United States re-engaged with a June agreement designed to terminate their conflict. "I explicitly declare that if the United States reverts to its obligations under the said memorandum of understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately reciprocate," Pezeshkian stated during a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan, as reported by the Iranian presidency's website.

The memorandum of understanding aimed to put an end to weeks of hostilities between Tehran and Washington, which erupted in late February following the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, resulting in the death of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The deal subsequently unraveled, with both parties blaming each other for breaches of its terms.

Pezeshkian emphasized that the United States' repeated disregard for its commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding underscored the need for effective enforcement mechanisms, as the lack thereof could jeopardize the diplomatic process.