Iran’s president says peace MoU with US advanced with ‘dignity, power’

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian defended the peace MoU with the US, saying it was reached with dignity and strength. Meanwhile, Senator Ruben Gallego criticised the Trump administration for lacking a clear war plan, exit strategy and defined mission, citing military concerns

Tehran: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran reached the recent peace memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United States with “dignity” and “power,” while taking into consideration the principles outlined by former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

He made the remarks on Sunday at a meeting attended by Education Minister Alireza Kazemi, where the president defended the MoU signed between Iran and the United States on June 18 to end the war in the region, according to a statement released by his office.

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“We pursued the recent agreement with strength and did not surrender to our enemies,” Pezeshkian said, adding that the MoU was drafted after careful deliberation and in-depth discussions with experts, reports Xinhua news agency.

In remarks on Saturday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf described the peace MoU as proof of “Iran’s glory and victory” and being in line with the consolidation of the country’s victory in the field of diplomacy, according to the official news agency IRNA.

Under the MoU, Iran and the United States were scheduled to hold negotiations within a 60-day period ending on Monday to reach a final agreement. However, the fate of the talks remains uncertain following the escalation between the two countries in recent weeks.

Meanhwile, earlier on Sunday, US Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego has said that President Donald Trump’s administration entered the Iran war without a clear plan, an exit strategy or a defined mission, leaving US military personnel to bear the consequences. Gallego, an Iraq War veteran who served in the Marine Corps, said on Sunday that the conflict had exposed serious failures in planning and leadership at the Pentagon.

“This administration did not plan for this war. They did not plan how to get out of this war, did not really understand how this war was going to escalate,” the Senator told ABC News. The Arizona Senator was responding to reports of exhaustion, falling morale and mental health concerns aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.