Tehran [Iran], June 17 (ANI): Calling it “too early to be optimistic,” Iranian academic Elham Kadkhodaee has urged caution over the proposed US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), asserting that the document is not a comprehensive peace deal but merely a temporary arrangement aimed at extending a ceasefire and creating space for future negotiations.
Speaking to ANI, Kadkhodaee, Assistant Professor of West Asian Studies at the University of Tehran, said the understanding currently under discussion should not be viewed as a final resolution to longstanding tensions between Washington and Tehran.
“It’s not a deal. It’s actually just a memorandum of understanding, meaning that it’s going to extend the previously agreed-upon ceasefire, and then it’s going to give a time for the sides to somehow come up with an actual deal. It’s something that’s temporary, and in Iran, people are very cautious about it,” she said.
“Iranians are prepared for a diversity of scenarios that could happen. It’s too early to be that optimistic about a potential deal that’s going to solve the issues between Iran and the US,” Kadkhodaee added.
Her remarks come as the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at ending hostilities in West Asia is scheduled to take place on June 19 at Burgenstock in Switzerland’s canton of Nidwalden.
According to Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), diplomatic consultations have been underway with the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar regarding the proposed signing. Switzerland is facilitating the process by providing the diplomatic and logistical framework for the meeting.
Kadkhodaee also dismissed US President Donald Trump’s assertion that preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon was a key achievement of the agreement.
“Trump lives in a kind of an illusionary world because Iran has always insisted that our nuclear program is a solely peaceful one. We are not after nuclear weapons because we have a fatwa against using weapons of mass destruction,” she said.
“It’s really not the achievement he is presenting. He needs to sell this to the American public and frame it in a way that he has made a better deal,” she added.
Addressing Israel’s position on the proposed understanding, Kadkhodaee argued that Israeli officials have gone beyond expressing scepticism and have instead indicated that they may not adhere to the arrangement.
“Israel has not said that it’s sceptical towards this MoU. They have said that they are not going to abide by it. They have stated that they are going to stay in Lebanon, and they are going to act as they wish,” she said.
Referring to southern Lebanon, she alleged that previous ceasefire arrangements had been repeatedly violated and warned that any breakdown on one front could jeopardise the entire framework.
“Iran has insisted that peace, or better to use the word ‘ceasefire’, on all fronts is something that’s going to work. But if on one front this is going to break, that’s going to destroy the whole agreement,” she said.
On the issue of sanctions relief and frozen Iranian assets, Kadkhodaee noted that the details remain unclear because the text of the MoU has not been made public.
“We do not have the text of the MoU, so we do not know what the details are, but from the Iranian perspective, getting access to those frozen assets is very important. It’s something that belongs to Iran,” she said.
She argued that sanctions have failed to achieve their intended political objectives and said Tehran would seek strong guarantees before moving forward with any future agreement.
“I think Iran is approaching this issue with experience from previous agreements. It’s very serious in terms of guaranteeing that this really happens as a consequence of the memorandum of understanding and later on, as the agreement, if an agreement is actually reached,” Kadkhodaee said.
Earlier, senior US administration officials confirmed that Trump and JD Vance had signed the MoU with Iran that lays out a framework for future engagement and sanctions relief linked to Tehran’s cooperation on the nuclear program and regional security commitments.
The US officials said that the memorandum establishes the basis for how relations between the two countries will move forward. (ANI)
The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.
