TEHRAN, Iran, July 18 (ANI): Amid escalating regional tensions, Iran has officially suspended its commitments under the 14-point Memorandum of Understanding signed with the United States.
According to the Fars News Agency, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the Islamic Republic is no longer honoring its obligations under the agreement, accusing the United States of violating the memorandum through what he described as “aggressive actions.”
“We were in negotiations. Unfortunately, the Americans themselves took these aggressive actions, violating their commitments under the memorandum of understanding in this regard. Practically, America has trampled on all its commitments and suspended them all. We have also suspended all our commitments under that memorandum of understanding, known as the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, and we are not currently fulfilling those obligations,” Gharibabadi said.
He described Iran’s current military posture as a “united and decisive defence” and said Washington’s approach was misguided.
“What we are currently facing is a united and decisive defence of our country, and I believe the Americans have already received their answer this time—that their aggressive actions won’t lead anywhere. In fact, if they were wise, they should have chosen other solutions. But for us, the path forward is a decisive defence of our country and teaching a lesson to the aggressors,” he said.
The 14-point agreement, signed last month by the United States and Iran with mediation from Qatar and Pakistan, called for an immediate halt to military operations, including in Lebanon, and committed both countries to pursuing a final agreement within 60 days.
The memorandum also included provisions for lifting the U.S. naval blockade, ensuring safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, providing phased sanctions relief, releasing frozen Iranian assets, and establishing a U.S.-backed economic development program for Iran valued at at least $300 billion.
Earlier Saturday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned countries hosting American troops to prepare for a “corresponding response” as regional tensions continued to escalate, according to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.
The IRGC urged those countries to “activate their civil defence units to protect their citizens and move them away from potential military targets,” accusing regional governments of allowing their territory to be used as launchpads for attacks against Iran.
As part of what it described as its response, the IRGC claimed its ground forces used drones and missiles to strike a U.S. military logistics center at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, alleging the attack caused casualties among personnel stationed there.
The group also claimed it attacked the U.S. Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, saying the strike disabled radar systems and destroyed a weapons maintenance hangar and a drone facility.
The claims have not been independently verified.
The developments come amid a sharp escalation in hostilities as the United States and Iran exchanged another wave of military strikes Saturday.
According to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), American forces completed a seventh consecutive night of operations targeting Iranian military capabilities late Friday.
In a statement released early Saturday, CENTCOM said the strikes targeted “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities.”
Following the attacks, Iranian state television reported extensive damage to transportation infrastructure in Bandar Khamir, in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province along the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes on major highways and railway infrastructure appeared aimed at isolating the port city of Bandar Abbas from key logistical routes leading to central Iran and Tehran.
Speaking to the American public Thursday evening, U.S. President Donald Trump defended the military campaign, saying, “We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labour very, very shortly.” (ANI)
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