An Iranian source speaking to Reuters has denied that the US and Iran had agreed to extend a 60-day ceasefire under the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, since the deal fell apart shortly after it was signed.
The official was responding to a report from Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, which cited Pakistani government sources who claimed that the US and Iran had agreed to extend the ceasefire for another 60 days before it expired on August 17.
“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,” the Iranian source told Reuters.
The source said there had been some talks about reviving the MoU but that they haven’t gotten anywhere. “One of the issues that is being discussed via mediators is the US returning to the interim agreement and defining a timeframe for implementing its commitments. There has been absolutely no progress on this issue,” the official said.
Publicly, Iranian officials have been calling on the US to honor the commitments it made when it signed the MoU, which Tehran says is required to open the Strait of Hormuz.
“IRAN’s message is clear: the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until the US ends the war and blockade, releases Iran’s frozen assets, and agrees to a region-wide ceasefire, including in Lebanon and Gaza. Until all conditions are met, the Strait will remain closed,” Mohsen Rezaee, the new head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, wrote on X on Tuesday night.
