Iran Rejects US Attempt to Redefine Middle East Hostilities Ceasefire MOU

Tehran will not be tricked by Washington’s attempts to redefine the memorandum of understanding agreed between the sides, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed on Tuesday that a complete cessation of hostilities across the Middle East, including the Israeli military operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, is “not possible,” despite it being the first clause of the MOU signed by the Americans and the Iranians on June 17.

“You can’t have the end of hostilities and conflicts in the region as long as Iranian proxies are launching missiles and drones from Iraq and are participating in terrorism like Hamas did and like Hezbollah did,” Rubio said.

Baghaei responded in a post on X on Wednesday, saying “no one will be fooled” by what the top US diplomat is allegedly trying to do.

“We can’t have a peaceful region so long as American militarism and interventionism persist, and their occupying proxy continues, with absolute impunity, to inflict endless wars across the region and perpetrate genocide, terror violence and every atrocities,” he said, in an apparent reference to Israel.

In a separate post, Baghaei insisted that “the American ruling establishment has never shown any sincerity in its behavior toward the Iranian nation.”

“The contradictory statements by US officials regarding the memorandum of understanding… will do nothing to reduce the accumulated distrust of Iranians,” he added.

The authorities in Tehran signed the MOU in good faith, but “they will take every step with vigilance, bearing in mind the experiences of the past five decades,” Baghaei stressed.

The MOU opened a 60-day negotiating period aimed at reaching the final settlement of the conflict, which started with a US-Israeli attack on Iran in late February.

Relief from US sanctions against Tehran, the Iranian nuclear program, traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for some 20% of global crude oil trade, and other issues are expected to be discussed between the sides during the period.

A senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Mohammad Mokhber, earlier said that Tehran will insist on the full implementation of the MOU’s clause on the complete end of hostilities in the region.

“When an agreement remains on only paper, the energy flow in the Middle East will also come to a halt,” he warned.