TEHRAN(National Times)- Esmaeil Baqaei, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Monday that there was “no such thing as a 60-day deadline” under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United States.
Iran’s semi-official outlet ISNA said Baqaei made the remarks when asked about the timeframe mentioned in negotiations with Washington during a press briefing. The remarks also came as the 60-day window expired.
“There is no such thing as a 60-day deadline in the text of the MoU, and the Islamic Republic of Iran never formulates its policies under pressure, ultimatums or time constraints,” Baghaei was quoted as saying.
“All decisions are made solely based on evaluations of national interests and national security. What was anticipated in the MoU was merely a 60-day window for talks on two axes — sanctions relief and the nuclear issue — which could be extended if no result was reached,” he said.
“Due to the blatant and widespread violation of the June 18 MoU by the US just a few weeks after its signing, no talks were initiated, and consequently, the issue of the 60-day period completely lost its relevance,” ISNA quoted him as saying.
“The primary focus of the entire country is on managing current affairs, while simultaneously the armed forces are closely monitoring all movements with full vigilance,” he added.
The MoU between the US and Iran was signed on June 18 after weeks of intensive diplomacy. It was aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the Middle East conflict — which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February — after a further 60 days of negotiations.
However, renewed hostilities erupted on July 7, when Iran attacked commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, including a Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker, accusing the US of violating the understanding. The attack prompted multiple waves of US strikes on Iranian military targets.
The conflict also spread to new fronts, with the Houthi rebels in Yemen imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, extending the war to a second major shipping chokepoint.
Iran considers missing pilots to be prisoners in Qatar
Baqaei also said that Iran will consider three missing pilots to be prisoners in Qatar, despite Doha’s denials, until it clarifies their fate.
Tehran has said the Iranians went missing while carrying out an operation against the United States’ Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on March 2, shortly after the outbreak of the Middle East war.
On Saturday, Iranian authorities alleged for the first time that the pilots had been captured in Qatar, after previously saying one pilot had been killed and three others were missing following their sortie.
“It is imperative to obtain clarification on their situation,” Baqaei said.
“Until the pilots’ situation is clarified, we consider them prisoners and will spare no effort to shed light on their fate.”
Qatar denies holding the pilots and said an invitation had been sent to Iran “to be briefed on the details of the search and rescue operations in April, but the Iranian side has yet to respond”.
