Iran Ready to Honour Commitments with US, Provided Washington Does the Same

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has stated that his country will respect agreement commitments if the United States does the same. However, he warned that Tehran will respond firmly to any threats that arise.

Pezeshkian made the statement via a post on the X platform on Monday local time. “Mutual understanding is a two-way street. If the American side complies with the agreement, we will also fulfil our commitments,” Pezeshkian said.

Without naming specific parties, he also issued a subtle jab seemingly directed at the White House. “Our approach to unreasonable complaints and baseless threats depends on human rationality and dignity in decision-making, as well as firm and unwavering defence in terms of action,” Pezeshkian added.

On the other hand, the spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaeil Baghaei, emphasised that there is no schedule for negotiation meetings with the US at any level in the coming days. Tehran is currently focusing on the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), rather than moving towards final agreement talks.

Under the MoU, negotiations for a final agreement can only commence if initial points, including oil sales matters (Clause 10) and the release of frozen assets (Clause 11), have begun to proceed. Regarding the assets, a delegation of Iranian experts is scheduled to fly to Doha, Qatar, later this week to follow up on the process.

President Pezeshkian previously announced that a portion of Iran’s frozen funds in Qatar would soon return to Tehran. “Based on the plan that has been made, US$6 million of the total US$12 billion of Iranian resources in Qatar will be returned to the country, and the necessary follow-up is also underway for the return of the remainder of these resources,” Pezeshkian revealed during a meeting with senior clerics in Qom.

However, the US side stated that no Iranian assets have been released so far. Washington emphasised that the process of releasing humanitarian funds will be strictly monitored. “Iranian assets that are released will be used to purchase American agricultural products to feed the Iranian people. Every release of funds for humanitarian purchases will be linked to the performance and implementation of the MoU by Iran,” an US official said in a statement on Monday.