Iran’s president says Iran would return to ceasefire agreement if US does

Iran’s president has said his country is ready to return to the ceasefire deal reached with the US in June if Washington does the same, in conciliatory remarks following the first exchange of fire between the two countries in a month.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said that “if the US returns to its commitments in the memorandum of understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately reciprocate”, Iranian state media reported.

The June memorandum of understanding called for an immediate ceasefire and started a 60-day period for negotiations aimed at reaching a wider peace deal.

Iran agreed to clear the Strait of Hormuz of mines and allow ships to pass during the period, and the US agreed to end its naval blockade, lift sanctions, issue waivers for Iranian oil exports and begin work on a reconstruction package for Iran, among other things.

The agreement broke down quickly, and while there has been a lull in fighting, the two sides exchanged fire on the weekend.

While Mr Pezeshkian has long favoured a negotiated end to the war, Iran’s most powerful force remains the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which is pressing for greater concessions from the US, including Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz and financial compensation for the war.

Those conditions would likely be unacceptable to Washington.

The leaders of China, Russia and India are all attending the summit in Kyrgyzstan, which has been billed as a counterweight to US global influence.

Iran’s foreign minister has already held meetings with his Chinese counterpart and Mr Pezeshkian was due to have talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin later on Tuesday.

Mr Putin said in public remarks before the meeting that Moscow has welcomed Iran’s ceasefire agreement with the US early this year, but that “truce proved unstable and all too fragile”.

Iran has been working with Oman, which sits on the south side of the Strait of Hormuz, on a framework for managing shipping traffic, though it remains unclear whether the plan would be acceptable to the US.

Other Gulf nations have stressed the need to reopen the strait unconditionally.

On Tuesday, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, met with Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The agency said the two talked about “ongoing efforts to maintain regional security and stability” but did not mention the Strait of Hormuz specifically.

Meanwhile, the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre said it received reports of an attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, and a second report of an incident involving a tanker in waters nearby.

In the first incident, the UKMTO said a tanker was hit by three projectiles on Monday on its way out of the Persian Gulf through the strait east of Oman.

The monitoring agency said there were no reports of casualties on the boat or any environmental impact from the attack.

In the second incident, the UKMTO said it had received a report “involving a tanker and military forces” on Monday off the coast of Oman, east of the Strait of Hormuz.

Ambrey, a UK-based maritime risk and response company, also said that the vessel had reportedly been stopped and remained adrift.

There were no reports of casualties.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but Iran has fired regularly on ships in the Strait of Hormuz as it continues to restrict traffic through the key waterway.

The US has also fired on ships as it maintains its blockade of Iranian ports.