TEHRAN – Iranians are delaying the resumption of talks toward a final deal—one that would address Iran’s security and economic concerns in exchange for limits on its nuclear program—until the United States fully upholds the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that made the talks possible in the first place, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei announced during his weekly press briefing on Tuesday.
“Negotiations on a final agreement with the United States will begin only after progress is made on several key provisions of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding,” the spokesman told reporters.
Baghaei noted that Iran will assess developments in the coming days before deciding when and in what format to resume negotiations.
The MOU was signed on June 17 thanks to mediation efforts by Pakistan. Since then, its first clause—which required a halt to hostilities on all fronts—has been repeatedly violated by the U.S. and its ally Israel, which has continued attacking Lebanon with American support and refused to withdraw its forces from occupied Lebanese territories.
Last week, the U.S. violated another clause of the agreement by attempting to route ships through the Strait of Hormuz via a non-Iranian corridor. Iran had restricted passage through the strait at the outset of the war on February 28, and under the MOU, it agreed to allow shipping to return to pre-war levels within 30 days, provided that passage took place under Iranian arrangements. After Iran dismantled the unauthorized route by firing warning shots at violating vessels, the U.S. struck targets along Iran’s southern territories. Tehran responded with its own missile and drone attacks on eight American military installations in the region.
Ebrahim Azizi, head of Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said on Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz is an “inseparable” part of Iran’s national sovereignty and its management is exclusively the responsibility of the Islamic Republic. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi has also rejected a bid by France to demine the Strait of Hormuz in collaboration with its allies, saying the operation will exclusively be carried out by Tehran.
Following the recent exchange of fire over the control of Hormuz Strait, Iran appears to have called off sending a delegation to Doha to meet with American negotiators this week. Officials have said that only a team will be dispatched to speak with Qatari officials and discuss the release of Iranian assets from Qatari banks—assets previously held by the U.S. that were supposed to be returned to Tehran in 2023.
“The next round of talks depends on the implementation of clauses 1, 5, 10, and 11 of the memorandum, which relate to the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade, the restoration of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions relief, and the enforcement of ceasefire arrangements,” Baghaei said, adding that Washington must fully implement its commitments before a comprehensive agreement can be reached.
Iran and the U.S. have so far held one round of negotiations in Switzerland since the MOU was signed. The Iranians had already entered the talks with deep skepticism, given that both the recent war and the earlier U.S.-Israeli campaign launched against the country in 2025 began in the midst of diplomatic negotiations—with surprise attacks by the U.S. and Israel. The second round of U.S.-Israeli aggression has proven even more brutal and replete with war crimes. It commenced with the assassination of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who has now been succeeded by one of his sons—along with several other family members, including his 18-month-old granddaughter. Among the most harrowing attacks to date were those carried out on the very first day of the war, when American missiles struck a girls’ elementary school in two separate strikes, killing 168 children. Bridges, residential homes, universities, roads, banks, power systems, and water desalination facilities have also been targeted by U.S. and Israeli strikes across Iran.
Washington’s failure to uphold the Islamabad memorandum has further deepened mistrust among Iranians and intensified domestic pressure on Iran’s negotiating team to withdraw from the talks. Segments of the public are now calling for Iran to change its nuclear doctrine, rather than continue engaging in what they view as futile negotiations. Analysts say that the longer the U.S. fails to honor its commitments, the more opposition will grow—both among the Iranian public and among the country’s conservative political factions, which have traditionally opposed talks with the United States and have reacted angrily to the current negotiations.
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