Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian defended Tehran’s memorandum with the United States as the best available route out of the country’s prolonged war, while Iran’s new security chief warned neighboring states they could face attacks if they assist Washington’s economic pressure campaign.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian defended his government’s memorandum of understanding with the United States on Sunday, arguing that the agreement offers Iran its best chance to escape a costly state of “neither war nor peace” nearly six months into its conflict with the United States and Israel.
His comments came as Tehran’s newly appointed top security official delivered a significantly more confrontational message, warning neighboring countries that Iran could attack their interests and alternative Persian Gulf oil-shipping routes if they participate in additional U.S. economic measures against the Islamic Republic.
Pezeshkian said members of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council had concluded that the memorandum represents the strongest agreement presently available when measured against Iran’s national interests and principles of dignity and wisdom.
“There is not a single provision in this agreement that amounts to capitulation,” Pezeshkian said in remarks published early Sunday by the state-run IRNA news agency. “The supreme leader sets the policies, and we will follow that path.”
President Donald Trump signed the Memorandum of Understanding in June, establishing an ambitious 60-day timetable for ending the war and reaching an agreement concerning Iran’s nuclear program.
That deadline expired last week without a settlement.
Washington and Tehran remain sharply divided, particularly over reopening the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important maritime routes and a critical passage for global energy shipments.
Pezeshkian acknowledged Iran’s determination not to retreat before its adversaries but presented the agreement as essential to addressing another increasingly serious problem: the country’s deteriorating economic environment.
“Capital and money are extremely sensitive to risk,” Pezeshkian said. “We have to remove this risk from the country.”
The president said Iran cannot attract the investment it needs while remaining trapped in the current period of uncertainty.
Iran’s economy has come under growing strain during nearly six months of war with the United States and Israel. Longstanding sanctions have been compounded by a naval blockade that has made exporting oil — Iran’s most valuable product — extremely difficult.
The diplomatic effort is continuing alongside attempts by regional governments to mediate the conflict.
Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir is scheduled to lead an official delegation to Tehran on Monday, according to Iranian state television, which cited Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei.
Baghaei said Munir’s visit is intended to expand bilateral cooperation between Iran and Pakistan while continuing Islamabad’s efforts to advance peace and security in the region.
The announcement followed a telephone conversation between Munir and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Pakistan did not immediately comment on the planned visit. Islamabad has participated in multiple attempts to mediate an end to the Iran war.
Even as Pezeshkian emphasized diplomacy, Mohsen Rezaei, the newly installed head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned that Tehran would respond forcefully if neighboring governments join Washington’s effort to intensify economic pressure.
“If (Trump) wants to do something, we will retaliate in a seismic manner,” Rezaei said during an interview with Iran’s state broadcaster that aired Saturday.
Rezaei was appointed this month as part of a series of senior personnel changes viewed as strengthening the harder-line elements of Tehran’s political and military leadership. The IRIB interview marked his most extensive public comments since assuming the position.
His warning specifically addressed neighboring countries that could participate in what Tehran describes as an economic war against Iran.
Rezaei said Iran could strike oil-export routes through the Persian Gulf that serve as alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz if those governments cooperate with the new U.S. pressure campaign.
Countries that do so would be treated as enemies, he said, adding that “we will target their interests.”
Trump has said during the past week that his administration intends to impose an “unprecedented” degree of economic warfare and international isolation on Iran, which has already operated under extensive U.S. sanctions for years.
The increasingly confrontational exchange comes as violence elsewhere in the Middle East continues, including another series of incidents in the occupied West Bank.
A 61-year-old Palestinian man said an Israeli settler attacked him with a pipe Saturday outside his home in Khirbet al-Rakeez in the southern West Bank, leaving him bruised and in pain.
Saeed Muhammad Ibrahim Rabah told The Associated Press that two settlers arrived at his property aboard a tractor Saturday afternoon.
According to Rabah, one of the settlers began removing stones that his family had placed at the entrance of the property and attempted to enter.
When Rabah approached the men to determine what they were doing, one of the settlers struck him in the back with a pipe, he said.
The settlers subsequently left. Rabah received medical treatment before returning home with bruising and pain.
The encounters are intended “to provoke us so that we leave our land, leave our home and move away,” Rabah said.
Rabah said the incident followed an earlier confrontation in April 2025 that ultimately cost him one of his legs.
During that encounter, Rabah said he confronted settlers who were on his property while his son recorded what was happening.
One settler began choking his son, Rabah said, while another grabbed him, fired two shots into the air and then shot him in the legs.
Rabah said he was eventually transported to a hospital after a delay, where doctors amputated one of his legs.
In a separate episode Sunday, the Israeli military said forces were pursuing a suspect following a stabbing attack in the al-Auja area of the eastern West Bank near Jericho.
The attack injured a 24-year-old Israeli man.
Israeli emergency services said the victim was transported to a hospital in moderate condition.
Violence across the West Bank has increased during 2026. Palestinian officials say at least 87 Palestinians have been killed during almost 1,500 attacks involving Israeli settlers and soldiers this year.
Three Israelis have been killed by Palestinians in the West Bank during 2026.
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