Iran says US breached MoU, warns neighbours over use of territory
Iran's foreign ministry said US airstrikes on coastal surveillance facilities in southern Iran violated the US-Iran memorandum of understanding and warned neighbouring countries against allowing their territory or facilities to be used for future attacks on the Islamic Republic.
The ministry said the strikes late on Friday were a "clear violation" of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter and a "direct breach" of the first clause of the June memorandum of understanding ending the war.
It also said Israel had attacked Lebanon "in coordination with the United States," calling it another breach of the same clause of the agreement.
The ministry urged countries along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf to observe the principle of good neighbourliness and prevent "aggressor parties" from using their territory or facilities to commit acts of aggression against Iran.
It said responsibility for the consequences lay with the United States and any parties that "in any way" assisted US actions against Iran.
The foreign ministry said Iran had an "inherent right" to self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter and would defend its sovereignty, security and national interests "with all its power."
It said Iranian strikes against targets linked to US forces were carried out on that basis.
Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, accused the United States of violating both negotiations and a ceasefire, saying Washington had once again attacked Iran during talks.
"The defeated US president does not abide by the principles of negotiation or a ceasefire," Azizi said.
"The United States once again attacked Iran in the middle of negotiations," he said, adding that the "blatant violation of the ceasefire, as always, will end in their retreat and regret."
His comments came after the IRGC Navy said it had targeted US military deployment sites in the region in response to what it called a US "violation of commitments." The US military said it had struck Iranian missile, drone and radar sites after what it described as an Iranian drone attack on the Singapore-flagged Ever Lovely in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran will not change its current level of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency until negotiations reach a final stage and Tehran’s demands are met, a member of parliament’s National Security Committee said.
Mohseni Sani accused the IAEA director general of “hostile” conduct, saying his actions had helped advance anti-Iran resolutions at the UN Security Council and the IAEA Board of Governors.
He said that under Iran’s law requiring the government to suspend cooperation with the IAEA, the agency would not be allowed to enter the country to inspect the sites it wants to visit.
“Until negotiations reach the final stage and the violated rights of the Iranian people are fully restored, there will be no change in the current approach,” he said, adding that statements by IAEA officials would not affect decisions by senior officials in Tehran.
An analysis in Israel Hayom argues that the US-Iran agreement may be neither a historic breakthrough nor the strategic catastrophe many Israeli critics describe, but a temporary arrangement shaped above all by Donald Trump’s fear of an energy crisis before the US midterm elections.
Amit Segal, citing a senior source familiar with Israel-US relations, wrote that Trump avoided the most forceful options against Iran – a ground operation to remove enriched uranium or strikes on energy facilities – because either could have triggered a spike in oil prices, inflation and political damage at home.
The analysis says the agreement should be understood less as a nuclear deal than as a Hormuz deal. Its main purpose, according to the argument, is to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and prevent a global energy shock before the elections.
But the piece also says the deal contains two elements that may be less favorable to Tehran than they appear. First, sanctions relief is described as temporary and limited, not a permanent lifting of pressure. Second, the analysis says Iran has committed to freezing its nuclear program, a point the source described as important because without a deal or war, Tehran could have continued advancing.
The article argued that Iran’s economic damage from the war remains severe, with estimates ranging from hundreds of billions of dollars to as much as a trillion, while the benefits of the agreement would only ease a small part of that pressure.
On Lebanon, the analysis says Israel has no quick way to dismantle Hezbollah without either conquering all of Lebanon or seeing Iran collapse. The more realistic strategy, it argues, is deterrence: preserving US backing, preventing fire into Israel and operating against Hezbollah’s rebuilding in a southern security zone.
Iran's Ramin Rezaeian and Mehdi Taremi look dejected after the Group G match against Egypt at Seattle Stadium, Seattle, Washington, US, on June 27, 2026.
Iran’s official national team missed the chance to qualify automatically for the World Cup knockout stage for the first time in its history after a 1-1 draw with Egypt in Seattle, but can still advance depending on results in other groups.
Iran finished third in Group G with three points from three draws after Belgium beat New Zealand 5-1 in the simultaneous match to top the group. Egypt also advanced, finishing second on five points but behind Belgium on goal difference.
The draw leaves Iran in the ranking of third-placed teams, with the expanded 48-team World Cup sending the top two teams from each group and the eight best third-placed teams into the Round of 32.
Iran can still qualify with three points if one of several remaining results goes its way: Ghana beats Croatia, DR Congo fail to beat Uzbekistan, or the Austria-Algeria match produces a winner.
Any one of those outcomes would be enough to keep Iran inside the qualifying places among third-placed teams.
The match began badly for Iran. Mahmoud Saber scored for Egypt in the fifth minute, the fastest World Cup goal in Egypt’s history, after Iran failed to clear inside the area.
Iran had a quick chance to respond when Mehdi Taremi stepped up for a penalty six minutes later, but Egypt goalkeeper Ahmed Shobeir saved his shot.
Ramin Rezaeian equalized in the 14th minute, finishing from a tight angle after Milad Mohammadi’s shot had been pushed away.
Rezaeian has now scored in two of Iran’s three matches at this World Cup, after also scoring in the opening 2-2 draw with New Zealand.
The game then settled after a frantic start. Egypt lost Mohamed Salah in the second half when he was substituted in the 57th minute, apparently because of discomfort in his hamstring.
Iran’s biggest moment came deep into stoppage time. Shoja Khalilzadeh appeared to have scored a late winner that would have sent Iran through automatically, but the goal was ruled out for offside after a VAR review.
Moments later, Saeid Ezatolahi struck the post from close range, leaving Iran with another draw and no control over its own qualification.
Iran had entered the final group match after two draws: 2-2 against New Zealand in its opener and 0-0 against Belgium in its second game.
The three-match unbeaten run is the first time Iran has completed a World Cup group stage without defeat, though it has still not won a match at the tournament.
The result is therefore both Iran’s strongest unbeaten group-stage return and another missed opportunity.
The match also took place in a politically charged atmosphere for Iranians.
The national team remains a divisive symbol for many inside Iran and across the diaspora, with some viewing it as a football team to be separated from politics and others seeing it as inseparable from the Islamic Republic it officially represents.
Those tensions had already followed Iran through the tournament. Before the Egypt match, FIFA said rainbow flags would be allowed inside the stadium, while Iran’s pre-revolutionary Lion and Sun flag remained barred from World Cup venues under rules against political symbols.
Iran's Shoja Khalilzadeh scores a goal past Egypt's Mostafa Shoubir that was later disallowed. Egypt's Mohanad Lashin and Egypt's Mohamed Hany celebrate as Iran's Saeid Ezatolahi looks dejected after the match.
