An Iranian security official stated on Sunday that Tehran would consider any nation supporting new United States economic measures against the Islamic Republic as an act of war. This declaration comes as Iran’s president defended a memorandum of understanding with the US as the optimal route to resolve a stalled conflict.
The US Treasury Secretary is expected to announce new economic measures on Monday, following a pledge to impose unprecedented economic warfare and isolation on Iran, a country that has faced sanctions for decades. Also on Monday, Pakistan’s army chief is scheduled to visit Iran as mediators work to revive discussions.
The Memorandum of Understanding, signed by US President Donald Trump in June, established an ambitious 60-day timeframe to end the conflict with Iran and achieve an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program. This period concluded last week without signs of compromise on the critical issue of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, nor any extension of the deadline.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking on Sunday, asserted that the memorandum was the best way to move past a state of neither war nor peace. He noted that Iran has been unable to attract investment nearly six months after the war began. Pezeshkian emphasized that the agreement contains no provisions amounting to capitulation and that Tehran would follow the supreme leader’s policies.
Mohsen Rezaei, the hard-line leader of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, issued his warning via social media, which was quickly disseminated by Iranian state media. His comments followed extensive public remarks made a day prior, where he stated that Iran would retaliate seismically if the US took action, targeting alternative oil-shipping routes from the Persian Gulf.
Rezaei, a former Revolutionary Guard commander and military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, was recently appointed to his post. His appointment is widely viewed as part of a hardening of Tehran’s political and military stance.
While attacks in the Strait of Hormuz have reportedly calmed over the past 48 hours, with shipping traffic remaining at reduced levels, a recently established Iranian authority has listed dozens of vessels it claims violated transit arrangements and will face future restrictions, such as fines or seizures. The US military reported that its blockade of Iranian ports had redirected 70 commercial ships and disabled three as of Sunday. Iran and Oman are currently discussing the management of the strait, which may include new fees for ships.
In other regional developments on Sunday, a four-year-old child, Mohammed Taha, died in Gaza after an Israeli airstrike hit a central Gaza house, wounding at least five others. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital confirmed the casualties. The Israeli military later stated it struck and killed a Hamas commander, Ismail Abu Ful, in central Gaza, a death also confirmed by the hospital. Another Israeli strike in southern Gaza wounded at least seven people, including three children, according to health officials at Nasser Hospital. Israel’s Defense Minister instructed the military to act forcefully to prevent launches of balloons, kites, or drones from Gaza towards nearby Israeli communities. Hamas accused Israel of using children’s toys as a pretext for attacks and further displacement.
In the West Bank, police arrested a 16-year-old Israeli settler in connection with the beating of a 61-year-old Palestinian, Saeed Muhammad Ibrahim Rabah, outside his home. Rabah had lost a leg a year prior after being shot by a settler. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that a 14-year-old, Islam Maher Ajouri, was shot dead by Israeli forces in the Askar refugee camp in Nablus. His uncle described the shooting as indiscriminate. Additionally, Israel’s military detained a suspect in a stabbing attack that wounded a 24-year-old Israeli man in the al-Auja area of the West Bank.
The Iranian judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported the execution of Majid Adineh, who was arrested on January 9 in Mohammadshahr, west of Tehran, in connection with nationwide protests earlier this year. The judiciary stated that forensic examinations indicated a handgun found on him had been fired on January 8 and 9. Adineh was accused of joining unrest following calls from opposition groups and receiving training from outside the country, leading to his conviction under Iran’s law for espionage and cooperation with hostile states.
