Iran’s UN envoy warns Tehran ‘will no longer be bound’ by the MoU if US violations continue

NEW YORK: Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, says Tehran will stop honouring its memorandum of understanding with the US if the latter’s attacks continue, accusing Washington of a “flagrant violation” of the UN Charter over attacks on Iranian islands and southern cities on July 7 and 8, Al Jazeera reports.

“Should the United States continue to violate its obligations under the MoU, Iran will no longer be bound to fulfil its obligations under the MoU,” he tells reporters outside the UN Security Council, adding that Tehran remains committed “provided that the United States fully and faithfully complies with its own obligations”.

US seeks Iranian pledge of free, secure transit through Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is in Oman to discuss arrangements for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, with Washington seeking a public pledge of free, secure transit, Reuters reports.

No US attacks were reported on Friday or early Saturday, however, and a senior Iranian source tells Reuters a call between Iran, the US, Qatar, and Pakistan had been agreed and mediators were trying to arrange it for Saturday while Araghchi is in Oman.

Washington views today’s meetings in Oman between Iranian and Omani officials as pivotal for future diplomacy, according to unnamed US officials cited by Radio Free Europe, Al Jazeera reports.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is in Muscat to help find a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis.

‘Iranians will not tolerate’ giving up Hormuz control

Mostafa Khoshcheshm, a professor at the University of Applied Sciences and Technology in Tehran, tells Al Jazeera that “Iran earns nothing” from participating in the talks anymore and “stands to lose a lot”.

Khoshcheshm notes that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in the midst of the war shot up oil prices and came to be Tehran’s biggest weapon in the conflict.

“That mounted pressure on Trump at home, and he failed repeatedly to reopen this strait through military means,” he says. “Iran, a vast country, has taken measures to compensate by other means, including activating its land borders.”

The analyst argues that the waterway has been “under Iranian control for centuries, ever since this country was created”.

“This shouldn’t be the other way around after the war, and Iranians will not tolerate that. Iran is not going to take part in the talks unless the US backs down [from the Strait of Hormuz].”

US delegation in Lebanon to discuss Israel 'pilot zone' withdrawal: official

A US military delegation has met with Lebanon’s army in Beirut to discuss the implementation of Israel’s withdrawal from one of the “pilot zones” in occupied territory, a Lebanese military official tells AFP.

“The American military delegation arrived and began meetings with the Lebanese army command to discuss the mechanisms for implementing the first pilot zone from which the Israelis will withdraw, allowing the Lebanese army to deploy,” the official says, requesting anonymity.

“This is the main objective the American military delegation is bringing to Lebanon … it is the translation and implementation of the framework agreement.”

The official adds, “The first pilot zone will launch in a matter of days, and further pilot zones are being mapped out and planned.”