Iran warned that it would no longer be bound by a deal with the US aimed at ending the Middle East war if Washington’s violations of the agreement continued, state TV reported on Saturday.
Referring to the deal struck with the help of Pakistani mediation, Tehran’s UN ambassador said in remarks in New York on Friday “that if the United States continues to violate its obligations under the Islamabad Understanding, Iran will no longer consider itself bound by its commitments under that understanding”, according to a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB.
The Iran-US deal was preceded by an April ceasefire, but the two sides have exchanged significant fire in recent days over the Strait of Hormuz, threatening talks laid out under the deal aimed at finding a permanent resolution to the war.
Following the exchanges, US President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire over, but said talks with Iran would continue.
In his remarks to reporters on Friday, Iranian UN representative Amir Saeid Iravani said Washington had “violated its obligation by launching and continuing large-scale military attacks against Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
“Iran remains committed to the faithful implementation of (the) Memorandum of Understanding provided that the United States fully and faithfully complies with its own obligations,” he added.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Omani counterpart exchanged views on “appropriate mechanisms” for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz in accordance with Article 5 of the Islamabad memorandum of understanding, Araghchi said on his Telegram channel on Saturday.
Earlier, a written statement from Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, on Saturday threatened vengeance for the death of his predecessor and father, who was killed on February 28.
Released to mark funeral ceremonies for former leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which the new leader did not attend, it said the vengeance would take place whatever happened to Iran.
“We pledge to avenge the blood of the martyred leader and all the martyrs,” the message said.
Trump had posted on Friday that he had ordered the US military to be prepared to launch thousands of missiles against Iran if Tehran attempted to assassinate him.
The Wall Street Journal and other US media reported this week that Israel had shared intelligence with Washington that Iran had recently devised a plan to assassinate Trump. There was no immediate comment from Iran on Trump’s latest remarks.
At the funeral ceremonies on Thursday, a huge crowd of mourners packed a courtyard, some bearing banners reading, “We Will Kill Trump.”
Last month’s interim deal was meant to pave the way to the end of a conflict now in its fifth month, which has killed thousands, throttled worldwide energy supplies and raised fears of a global economic downturn.
During the war Tehran has largely taken control of the Strait of Hormuz, forcing a stalemate.
The United States is demanding that Iran publicly state it will stop attacks on ships in the strait – and that all lanes will be open with no tolls through the waterway that carried one-fifth of global oil supplies before the war, the senior US officials told reporters on Friday.
At least 17 people were killed in US strikes on six cities in Iran on Wednesday and Thursday, the head of the public relations and information center at Iran’s Health Ministry said. He said 115 people were wounded.
Even so, US officials said conversations between the two countries had been productive in recent days. Tehran said any breach of commitments by Washington would be met with “reciprocal action”.
Renewed fighting in the Gulf has increased the pain for US consumers. After weeks of steady declines, crude oil prices posted their biggest weekly rise in eight weeks.