Lina Altawell
20 July 2026•Update: 20 July 2026
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that Iran needs "unity, collective decision-making and coordination among all state institutions" amid military escalation with the US.
“The government would use all available capacities to reform unjust structures and continue serving the people,” Pezeshkian said in statements carried by the semi-official ISNA news agency.
“The most important battlefield today is the economy and people’s livelihoods,” he said. “Iran’s enemies are trying through different means to block the country’s path to progress.”
On the Pakistan-mediated memorandum of understanding signed with the US last month, Pezeshkian said Iran “had not retreated from its rights, principles, national interests, or beliefs in any of the 14 points” of the document.
“Tehran had made no concessions against the country’s interests,” he said, adding that most of the outcomes were in favor of Tehran.
“No provision could be found in the memorandum that created a one-sided benefit for the US side,” he said.
The US has escalated attacks against Iran since last week amid rising tensions over shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran retaliated with strikes targeting facilities and bases it says are used by the US military in several regional countries.
Early Monday, explosions were reported in several Iranian provinces, including the first reported strike on the northwestern city of Tabriz since the US launched its latest attacks against Iran last week.
The exchange of fire between the two countries comes despite the Pakistan-brokered memorandum of understanding they signed in June to end their war and reach a lasting peace agreement.
