Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sept. 1 that Tehran would immediately reciprocate if the United States returned to its commitments under a June memorandum of understanding, keeping a diplomatic channel open after the interim arrangement collapsed. He spoke at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, after renewed military exchanges between the two countries.
The June agreement was intended to halt fighting and create a 60-day period for negotiations. It unraveled amid disputes over how its provisions should be implemented, including disagreements involving shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Pezeshkian said the United States had failed to honor its obligations, while Iran maintained that navigation through the strategic waterway would resume only under the agreement’s terms.
The latest escalation followed a U.S. The exchange was the first direct U.S. -Iran military confrontation since late July. President Donald Trump said the United States would respond to the Iranian attacks, but also said the strikes did not necessarily mark a return to full-scale war.
Pezeshkian’s position was conditional rather than an announcement of renewed negotiations. In a separate interview, he described the breakdown as a failure to resolve disagreements through dialogue and said both sides needed to reopen blocked channels before addressing other issues.
The dispute also includes the agreement’s nuclear provisions. The interim framework called for international oversight of Iran’s nuclear facilities and the dilution of highly enriched uranium, while Iranian officials said some inspection questions should be settled only through a final agreement. Technical-level discussions were expected to resume in Switzerland, with Pakistan continuing its mediating role, but the competing interpretations of the memorandum left the ceasefire and broader negotiations vulnerable to further military escalation.