Olive Branch
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday vowed to match any US move to return to a June deal aimed at ending their war, as he prepares to meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at a regional summit. The two allies were due to hold talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan, a bloc promoted by Russia and China as an alternative to Western power.
"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," Pezeshkian said. The memorandum aimed at ending hostilities 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.
Strait of Hormuz
Pezeshkian's remarks came as 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, including reopening Hormuz, if the United States did the same.
Putin met Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday at the SCO summit. Xi said Russia-China ties had become "more solid" and that their "prospects will be even brighter", while Putin said cooperation was "successfully developing on all fronts." The SCO now has 10 members and 15 dialogue partners, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.