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Iran’s president defended a memorandum of understanding with the United States as the best way out of a stalled war. Meanwhile, the new head of the Islamic Republic’s top security body warned, in a more forceful tone, of retaliation if neighboring countries support U.S. threats to further sanction Tehran.A Palestinian man said he was beaten by an Israeli settler outside his home, and Israel’s military said they were pursuing a stabbing suspect in a separate attack, the latest violence in the occupied West Bank.Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East on Sunday. Full coverage can be found here.Iran’s president says his country needs to get past current stallIranian President Masoud Pezeshkian defended a recent memorandum of understanding as the best way for the country to move beyond what he described as a situation of “neither war nor peace.”In a speech published by state-run IRNA early on Sunday, he said members of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council believed the memorandum represented the best possible agreement based on what he described as dignity, wisdom and the national interest.
“There is not a single provision in this agreement that amounts to capitulation,” Pezeshkian said. “The supreme leader sets the policies, and we will follow that path.”The deal known as the Memorandum of Understanding that U.S. President Donald Trump signed in June set an ambitious 60-day deadline for ending the war with Iran and reaching an accord on its nuclear program. That period ended last week, but the two sides remain far apart, with no signs of compromise on the crucial issue of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, vital to global shipping.
