Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that a return by the United States to a policy of pressure and threats risked derailing diplomatic efforts to end the war in the Middle East.

“The repeated violation by the United States of its commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding showed that… the absence of effective enforcement guarantees and a return to a policy of pressure and threats could derail the path of diplomacy,” Mr Pezeshkian said in a speech at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan.

“Iran has continued to regard diplomacy and negotiations as the primary path to resolving disputes. But diplomacy without good faith, without respect for commitments and without refraining from the use of force cannot create lasting peace,” he added.

Mr Pezeshkian said Tehran would “immediately” reciprocate if the US returned to a June deal aimed at ending their war.

“I state explicitly that if the United States returns to its commitments under the aforementioned memorandum of understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately take reciprocal action.”

The memorandum of understanding was aimed at ending months of hostilities between Tehran and Washington, which began in late February with the US and Israeli attacks on Iran that killed former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The deal later collapsed, with both sides accusing each other of violating its terms.

Mr Pezeshkian’s remarks came as the Strait of Hormuz remained a key point of contention between Iran and the United States, which resumed exchanging fire yesterday after more than a month of relative calm.

Tehran has maintained its closure of the strategic waterway, while insisting it would only open it if Washington meets its demands of lifting its naval blockade on Iranian ports, removing oil sanctions and unfreezing Iranian assets abroad under the deal.

Yesterday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said “the United States must return to its commitments and to what their president signed” under the deal.

“In that case, everything can be put back on the right track,” he said.