HIBAPRESS
Amidst growing leaks about American and Israeli preparations for a new round of strikes against Iran, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held the United States responsible for the failure to reach an interim agreement with Tehran.
However, he also indicated that a new attempt should be made to move forward with the implementation of the initial agreement, which collapsed last June, a few days after it was signed by both the American and Iranian parties.
"We must move forward with it"
Pezeshkian said in statements broadcast by official television today, Saturday: "We hold America responsible for the failure of the interim agreement, and I still believe that we must move forward with it."
He added, "We were conducting negotiations, but the cowards spoiled everything… and I still believe that we must move forward and reach this agreement."
"No strikes before elections"
These statements came as US President Donald Trump announced yesterday evening, Friday, that his country "is holding constructive talks with Iran." He reiterated that the United States "will not attack before the midterm elections" for Congress, scheduled for November 3rd.
Meanwhile, Susan Maloney, director of the Foreign Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, believes there is "a possibility of carrying out strikes shortly after the midterm elections."
She pointed to indications of this, including the dispatch of additional military equipment and US forces to the Middle East, warnings issued to Americans in the region, and the high state of alert among Israeli forces, according to Agence France-Presse.
She also added that Trump "publicly stated that he will not launch strikes before the midterm elections," and that "doing so would not seem beneficial to him electorally."
In contrast, Tehran has threatened more than once recently that it is ready for any attack, and that it has unexpected responses in its arsenal that could affect internet cables as well as numerous American military bases in the region.
Meanwhile, a US intelligence memo addressed to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned of the possibility of targeting American diplomats and officials in the Middle East.
