WANA (Jun 18) – Less than 24 hours after Iran and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding, officials in Tehran, citing the document’s explicit provisions on Lebanon’s territorial integrity and halting attacks on the Resistance Front, said that any further steps in the negotiation process would depend on the full and unconditional implementation of U.S. commitments in these areas.

 

The memorandum, signed yesterday, explicitly emphasizes respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty and refraining from any acts of aggression against the country. However, today’s Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon have raised serious questions about Washington’s commitment to the terms of the agreement.

 

Iranian officials involved in the talks have made it clear that Tehran will not implement its commitments unilaterally. They say the framework of the agreement was designed in a way that if the other side fails to honor its obligations from the outset, not only will further negotiations be halted, but the credibility of the document itself will be called into question.

 

Commenting on the issue, analysts referred to two competing interpretations of the recent attacks—one suggesting Israeli defiance of the United States and the other portraying the strikes as coordinated posturing between Tel Aviv and Washington. They stressed that, for the Islamic Republic, speculation about the motives behind these actions is beside the point. “What matters is the clear text of the memorandum and the actual cessation of attacks. As long as assaults on Lebanese territory and the Resistance Front continue, no further steps toward negotiations should be taken.”

 

Political experts also argue that Iran’s insistence on the simultaneous implementation of commitments reflects a new approach in the country’s diplomacy, one in which trust in American promises has been replaced by on-the-ground verification.

 

Meanwhile, there is growing speculation that Iran’s negotiating team may suspend any follow-up talks until it is fully assured that the attacks have ceased and that the United States is practically adhering to the agreement’s provisions regarding Lebanon.