{"id":347583,"date":"2026-08-26T10:17:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T09:17:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=347583"},"modified":"2026-08-26T10:35:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T09:35:13","slug":"why-the-iranian-regime-chose-war-and-economic-siege-over-an-ideal-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-a-world\/why-the-iranian-regime-chose-war-and-economic-siege-over-an-ideal-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Iranian Regime Chose\u200c War and Economic Siege Over an Ideal Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Boats
Boats navigating the Strait of Hormuz, southern Iran<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Four-minute read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In the long, grinding aftermath of the 2026 Iran war, a rare diplomatic opening appeared. The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding<\/a> offered Tehran something extraordinary: an immediate halt to military operations on all fronts, commitments to respect Iranian sovereignty and territorial integrity, a pathway to lifting sanctions (including UN and unilateral measures), reopening of the Strait of Hormuz under negotiated terms, and a 60-day framework for broader nuclear talks.<\/p>\n

Yet the regime has treated this opening less as a lifeline than as a threat. Why reject\u2014or allow to wither\u2014a deal that, by the admission of its own former president, stacked the table so heavily in Tehran\u2019s favor?<\/p>\n

Mohammad Khatami Reappears<\/h2>\n

Mohammad Khatami, the so-called \u201creformist president<\/a>\u201d from 1997 to 2005, made the case with unusual urgency. In remarks published through his official channels in mid-to-late August, he described the memorandum as without parallel: \u201cSince World War II, no document signed by a U.S. president has given this many advantages to the other side and imposed this many commitments on itself.\u201d He warned that losing the opportunity would produce \u201cextraordinary problems\u201d for the Islamic Republic and praised Pezeshkian for signing it \u201ccourageously and self-sacrificingly,\u201d calling the document a source of pride for the system after it received parliamentary support and higher approval.<\/p>\n

\n

"On the morning after the ceasefire, every exhausted and exasperated mind, long numbed by the #IranWar<\/a>, will turn instinctively toward the search for real change and the practical means to bring this regime to an end." https:\/\/t.co\/8Tmh0Sl0Kc<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 9, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n