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Iran said that the US must return to the conditions laid out by the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and will not extend the 60-day ceasefire.
On June 17, the US and Iran signed the MOU, which kicked off a 60-day ceasefire. Under the MOU, Iran agreed to allow traffic through the Strait of Hormuz while the US committed to enforcing a truce in Lebanon, lifting its blockade of Iranian ports, removing sanctions on Iran, and ending threatening statements towards Iran.
The US repeatedly violated the MOU, leading Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz to nearly all traffic. Over the weekend, just 32 ships entered or exited the Persian Gulf.
An Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday that Tehran is uninterested in extending the ceasefire, which is set to expire at the end of the week. “One of the issues that is being discussed via mediators is the U.S. returning to the interim agreement and defining a timeframe for implementing its commitments. There has been absolutely no progress on this issue,” a senior Iranian official told the outlet. “There is no talk of an extension because the United States violated the interim agreement 48 hours after it was reached and withdrew from it a few days later.”
One of the main issues in enforcing the MOU is Israel’s ongoing war against Lebanon. The MOU explicitly says the truce extends to Lebanon, but Tel Aviv has refused to halt attacks or withdraw its forces.
Since the MOU was signed, the Saudi war against Yemen has reignited. Ansar Allah, the ruling faction in Yemen, has responded to Saudi attacks on the airport in Sanaa by striking multiple energy targets in the kingdom. Ansar Allah is an ally of Tehran.
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