TEHRAN SAYS IT HAS ‘SUSPENDED’ COMMITMENTS UNDER US CEASEFIRE DEAL

Sat 18 July 2026:

Iran has suspended its obligations under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreed with the United States last month, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi announced on Saturday. Meanwhile, Iran’s health ministry reported that U.S. strikes since June 27 have resulted in 50 deaths and over 500 injuries.

Speaking to Iranian state television, Gharibabadi said the U.S. had violated all of its own commitments under the memorandum and suspended every provision of it, prompting Iran to do the same.

“We were in negotiations. Unfortunately, it was the Americans themselves who, in fact, took these aggressive actions, in violation of their own commitments,” Gharibabadi said.

“We have suspended all of our commitments and are, in fact, no longer implementing them,” he added.

Gharibabadi said Iran’s focus had shifted to national defense. “What we are now faced with is defending our country,” he said.

“We will do so firmly and decisively, and I think the Americans have once again received their response that these aggressive actions by them will get them nowhere,” he noted.

Gharibabadi’s remarks came days after U.S. President Donald Trump said he believed the ceasefire was “over” following an Iranian drone attack on a ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz and echoed comments earlier in the week from Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei, who told reporters in Tehran on Wednesday: “We currently have no plans for negotiations and remain focused on defending the country.”

__________________________________________________________________________

https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22

__________________________________________________________________________

50 killed, over 500 wounded since June 27

Iran’s Health Ministry said Saturday that 50 people have been killed and more than 500 others injured in U.S. strikes since June 27.

Hossein Kermanpour, head of the ministry’s Public Relations and Information Center, said in a post on X: “In airstrikes from the 6th to the 27th of Tir (June 27 to July 18 on the Gregorian calendar), more than 500 people were wounded, and 50 were martyred. Among those killed were five women, two children, and two teenagers under 18.”

“Among the wounded were 32 women, 18 children, and two teenagers. So far, 28 surgeries have been performed, 460 people have been discharged, and 37 remain hospitalized,” he added.

The U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, reached last month with mediation from Qatar and Pakistan, had ended weeks of fighting and opened the door to more detailed negotiations before collapsing under renewed exchanges of fire between the two countries.

Regional tensions have continued to escalate as the U.S. and Iran exchange attacks despite the June agreement, which had aimed to end the war and reach a lasting peace settlement.

Latest developments

Iran’s national water company says some 10,000 people across 20 villages are without water after overnight US attacks.
Iran’s army says it has hit US assets in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait following the latest round of US strikes. Kuwait says Iranian attacks have targeted two power and water plants.
Earlier, US Central Command said it had completed its seventh consecutive night of strikes on Iran, employing “fighter aircraft, aerial drones and warships” to hit the country’s “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities”.
Iranian state media says at least three people have been killed and eight wounded in attacks in Hormozgan province which borders the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command says a claim by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards that two oil tankers have exploded in the strait after hitting mines in the international waterway is “false”.

NEWS AGENCIES

__________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

WhatsApp CHANNEL
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22