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Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on July 18 that Tehran has “suspended” its commitments to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with the United States last month.
The announcement came amid a limited confrontation with the U.S. that began more than ten days earlier. Since then, all terms of the deal have been violated, with Washington reinstating sanctions, imposing a naval blockade, and deploying additional forces in the region.
“The U.S. has violated and suspended all its commitments within the framework of the Islamabad MoU,” he said in a statement carried by the Fars news outlet.
“We have also suspended our commitments; we are not implementing them, and we are busy defending the country,” Gharibabadi added.
The confrontation escalated sharply in recent days. The U.S. began targeting civilian infrastructure in Iran, causing casualties. The Islamic Republic responded by broadening its retaliation, resuming strikes on Saudi Arabia and even announcing an attack against Syria.
More escalation is expected. Following Gharibabadi’s announcement, an Iranian military official told the semi-official Fars news agency that if the U.S. attacks Iranian infrastructure tonight, the United Arab Emirates should evacuate all key ports and airports.
“If the United States attacks the country’s civilian infrastructure tonight, the Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports, as well as the ports of Fujairah and Jebel Ali, must be evacuated immediately to preserve the lives of citizens from Iran’s retaliatory strikes,” the official stated.
Although there have been reports of Iranian strikes on the UAE, the Islamic Republic has so far refrained from announcing any attack against the Gulf state.
A report by Axios a day earlier revealed that the U.S. is preparing to deploy “dozens” of additional aerial refueling aircraft as President Donald Trump considers expanding military operations against the Islamic Republic.
Citing three American and Israeli officials, the U.S. news website said Trump was presented with several new military options during a Situation Room meeting earlier in the week, including strikes on Iranian power plants and other infrastructure, as well as additional attacks on suspected nuclear facilities, including an operation targeting the underground Pickaxe Mountain site.
A separate report by Lebanon’s Nidaa Al Watan revealed that Iran had told its regional allies, including Hezbollah, to prepare for the possibility of a broader conflict amid the military escalation with the U.S.
According to the report, which is based on information obtained from meetings held in Tehran on the sidelines of the recent funeral of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, leaders of the Iran-backed regional “Axis of Resistance” told allies that the period of waiting is nearing an end and that preparations for military scenarios have become a priority.
All in all, the MoU appears to be over. War will likely resume soon, and with it, Israel and even some Gulf states may join the attack on Iran.
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bombardeiem as torres de vidro dos eau. a monarquia emiratí matou milhares de sírios através de seu financiamento do estado islâmico e envio dos terroristas deste para a guerra da síria. uma menina síria católica foi morta com um crucifixo fincado em sua vagina. os emiratíes devem morrer para pagar o que fizeram com a síria enviando o estado islâmico para destruir o país.
mohammed bin rashid al maktoum, o primeiro-ministro do eau deveria ser o primeiro a morrer. terrorista desalmado. nada de dubai e abu dhabi deve ficar de pé, esse país sequer merece existir pelo que fez com o povo sírio.