Iranian President Emphasizes Missile Development, Says It Is "Not Part of the Memorandum of Understanding"

[Financial News] Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian stressed that the ceasefire memorandum of understanding signed with the United States does not include any restrictions on ballistic missile development. He also drew a clear line, saying missile development would not be up for discussion.
According to The Times of Israel, Pezeshkian met with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad, Pakistan, on the 23rd local time. At a joint press conference afterward, he argued that "the missile program is not part of the memorandum of understanding and should not be included."
Pezeshkian said that "without its missile capabilities, Iran would have been plundered and destroyed by the United States and the Zionist regime (Israel), just as Israel did in the Gaza Strip." He added that "Iran will never compromise on its missile program and capabilities, and it will not be included in any agreement between Iran and any other party."
Pezeshkian proposed that "regional peace and stability can only be achieved through honest dialogue and regional cooperation." He also called for the creation of a new regional security framework for West Asia and the Persian Gulf based on dialogue, mutual respect, and cooperative engagement.
On the 30th of last month, CNN claimed, based on its own satellite image analysis, that 50 of 69 tunnels connected to Iran's underground missile launch facilities had been reopened. The United States, which bombed Iran together with Israel starting in February, used a tactic of striking and burying the entrances to underground bases in an effort to neutralize Iran's long-range missiles. CNN assessed that Iran had restored many of the buried underground tunnels after the April ceasefire.
Earlier, major foreign media outlets reported that the ceasefire memorandum of understanding physically signed by the United States and Iran on the 17th did not mention any restrictions on Iran's missile development. U.S. President Donald Trump also told reporters that day, regarding Iran's possession of ballistic missiles, "It would be a little unfair if other countries have them and Iran can't have a little bit of them."
On the 23rd, Sharif of Pakistan said that "Pakistan served as an honest and sincere mediator in the peace process between the United States and Iran," emphasizing that the issue of limiting Iran's ballistic missiles was not part of the agreement.
He said, "The memorandum of understanding does not mention ballistic missiles. Ballistic missiles were never on the negotiating table, nor were they ever part of the agenda. Iran did not want to discuss this issue." He added, "There should be no confusion. There are people around the world who are trying to break this agreement."
That day, Sharif, like Trump, argued that "there can be no double standard in which some countries are allowed to have ballistic missiles while Iran is not." He added that "such hypocrisy is unacceptable."


pjw@fnnews.com Park Jong-won Reporter