Pezeshkian seeks return to June US memorandum as Iran pitches seven-day plan

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran wants to return to the memorandum of understanding agreed with the United States in June, and welcomed China's support for reviving it. The statement came as Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi proposed a seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart broader talks with Washington.samaa.tv

The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, brokered by Pakistan and Qatar and signed on 17 June, set a 60-day window for negotiations and included a framework aimed at ending the war. It expired in August as each side accused the other of violations, and disputes over who controlled shipping through the Strait of Hormuz followed before Donald Trump declared the deal "over" on 7 July.

What the memorandum contained

Araghchi outlined the seven-day plan to reporters in New York on Thursday, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Under it, hostilities would end on all fronts, including Gaza and Lebanon, within seven days, and the Strait of Hormuz would reopen on the final day of the period if conditions were met.

Iran's plan asks Washington to release frozen Iranian assets estimated at no less than $12bn, waive sanctions on Iranian oil and lift its naval blockade. Talks on Iran's nuclear programme would start immediately. Araghchi said Iran would begin implementing the plan once Washington accepted it, and told reporters: "We have introduced a plan to the United States through the intermediators."

A US official told CBS that the Trump administration and Iran were engaged in "positive and constructive discussions through the mediators", and said Washington is not in a rush to reach an agreement. The official said nearly 40 million barrels of oil had transited the Strait over the previous 48 hours, against an International Energy Agency estimate of about 20 million barrels per day passing through in 2025.

Iran's seven-day conditions

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the United States and Iran during a White House meeting with Trump to return to the negotiating table and revive the Islamabad memorandum. "We support the return of Washington and Tehran to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding," Xi said, adding that sovereignty and security of all nations must be respected.arabnews.com

Pezeshkian thanked Xi in a post on X, saying: "I appreciate President Xi Jinping's thoughtful and responsible support for a return to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding and for resolving differences through dialogue and diplomacy." In a Fox News interview aired on Thursday, Pezeshkian said it is for the Trump administration to choose whether to end the war.

Where Washington stands

Pezeshkian took a defiant stand at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, telling the world Iran would not "bend at the knee" to Washington, even as Trump acknowledged ongoing US-Iran talks. He said earlier this month that Tehran would "immediately reciprocate" if the US returned to its commitments under the memorandum.

Cyrus Schayegh, professor of international history and politics at the Geneva Graduate Institute, said Iran keeps insisting the June memorandum remains key to any roadmap, while the US keeps refusing to accept this debate. He asserted that no significant movement towards ending the conflict is likely before the US mid-term elections in November.

Araghchi told reporters that "it would be better" to reach a deal before that vote, while Pezeshkian said any agreements with the US would not be tied to the timing of the midterms, according to CNN. Qatar's Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani had spoken with Pezeshkian about de-escalation and conditions for dialogue.