DUBAI, AUG 23 (AP): Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian defended a recent memorandum of understanding as the best way for the country to move beyond what he described as a situation of “neither war nor peace.”
“There is not a single provision in this agreement that amounts to capitulation,” Pezeshkian said in a speech published by state-run IRNA early on Sunday. “The supreme leader sets the policies, and we will follow that path.”
The deal known as the Memorandum of Understanding that US President Donald Trump signed in June set a 60-day deadline for ending the war with Iran and reaching an accord on its nuclear program. That period ended last week, but no signs of compromise have emerged, especially on the crucial issue of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, vital to global shipping.
Pezeshkian also linked the agreement to Iran’s economic prospects, saying the country couldn’t attract investment in this stalled phase. Nearly six months into the war with the United States and Israel, Iran’s economy is suffering under sanctions and a naval blockade.
Iran executes man arrested during January’s protests: The judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported on Sunday the latest execution connected to the protests, identifying the man as Majid Adineh and saying he was arrested Jan. 9 in Mohammadshahr, near Karaj, west of Tehran. Authorities said that he was carrying a handgun with 30 rounds of ammunition, two stun guns, two cans of tear gas and a battery-powered chainsaw. The judiciary said that forensic examinations indicated the handgun had been fired on Jan. 8 and 9. Mizan said Adineh had joined the unrest following calls by groups opposed to Iran’s government and alleged that he had received training from groups outside the country.
A Revolutionary Court in Karaj later convicted Adineh under Iran’s law imposing harsher penalties for espionage and cooperation with hostile states. Mizan said that the verdict accused him of carrying out operations on behalf of Israel, the United States and other groups Iran considers hostile.
Egypt tries to revive US-Iran negotiations: The top diplomats for Egypt and Iran discussed efforts to bring Tehran and Washington back to the negotiating table to settle the war, Egypt’s foreign ministry said. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty also discussed the Iranian-Omani talks, the ministry said.
Araghchi briefed Egypt’s foreign minister about “Iran’s view of ongoing developments, the course of negotiations and their challenges,” the ministry said, without elaborating. Araghchi confirmed the call. Separately, Araghchi said he had a call with Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Airstrike in Gaza kills a 4-year-old child: Four-year-old Mohammed Taha died after an Israeli airstrike hit a house in central Gaza on Sunday, hospital authorities said. The strike in the town of Zawaida also wounded at least five other people, including a child, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, which received the casualties.
The strike came minutes after residents said they received a warning from the Israeli military to evacuate the area where the house is located. Israel’s military didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement released on Sunday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he instructed the military to “act immediately and forcefully” to prevent the launches of balloons, kites or drones from Gaza toward Israeli communities bordering it.
“We view every launch as an act of war in every respect,” he said.
