U.S. President Donald Trump has once again emphasized that the primary objective of the ongoing conflict is to "never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon."
In his first reaction to Iran's announcement of halting its commitments under a memorandum of understanding, Trump stated in a phone call with NewsNation: "I don't care about that at all."
"We Ceased Our Commitments"
This statement follows Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi's earlier remarks on Saturday, claiming that the United States has "violated all its commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum and has ceased its implementation entirely."
Gharibabadi further mentioned, as reported by Iran's Mehr News Agency: "We have also stopped implementing our commitments and are currently focused on defending the country."
The memorandum, signed remotely by Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on June 17, aimed to end the war initiated by a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28. The document called for sustaining the ceasefire announced since April and negotiating a final deal within 60 days.
However, the temporary agreement (the memorandum of understanding) collapsed as of July 7, following Tehran's attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and subsequent U.S. air raids on Iran.
Since then, Tehran has declared the closure of the Strait, and Washington has reimposed its blockade on Iranian ports.