CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

We Have Been There Before: The US-Iran MOU and the Algiers Accords

DoD photo by: PH2 DON KORALEWSKI Date Shot: 27 Jan 1981

“The United States pledges that it is and from now on will be the policy of the United States not to intervene, directly or indirectly, politically or militarily, in Iran’s internal affairs.” “Iran and the United States … will immediately select a mutually agreeable central bank … to act … as depositary of the escrow and security funds.” “Commencing upon completion of the requisite escrow arrangements with the Central Bank, the United States will bring about the transfer to the Central Bank of all gold bullion which is owned by Iran.” “Commencing with the adherence by Iran and the United States to this declaration… the United States will arrange… for the transfer to Iran of all Iranian properties which are located in the United States and abroad.” “If any dispute arises between the parties as to whether the United States has fulfilled any obligation …  Iran may submit the dispute to binding arbitration by the tribunal established by, and in accordance with the provisions of, the claims settlement agreement.”

“The United States pledges that it is and from now on will be the policy of the United States not to intervene, directly or indirectly, politically or militarily, in Iran’s internal affairs.”

“Iran and the United States … will immediately select a mutually agreeable central bank … to act … as depositary of the escrow and security funds.”

“Commencing upon completion of the requisite escrow arrangements with the Central Bank, the United States will bring about the transfer to the Central Bank of all gold bullion which is owned by Iran.”

“Commencing with the adherence by Iran and the United States to this declaration… the United States will arrange… for the transfer to Iran of all Iranian properties which are located in the United States and abroad.”

“If any dispute arises between the parties as to whether the United States has fulfilled any obligation …  Iran may submit the dispute to binding arbitration by the tribunal established by, and in accordance with the provisions of, the claims settlement agreement.”

If you think the above declarations are related to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between Iran and the US on June 17, 2026, think again. These are some of the provisions of the Algiers Accords, an agreement that the Carter administration signed with Iran on January 19, 1981, promising many things to Iran in exchange for the Islamic Republic releasing American embassy personnel (or “hostages,” as the US government referred to them) held in Iran. As I have explained elsewhere, even though Iran released the detainees, the US never kept its part of the bargain. Just think of the first article above, i.e., that the US will not intervene, directly or indirectly, politically or militarily, in Iran’s internal affairs again. Now, think of thousands of sanctions that the US has levied on Iran or Iranians in the past 45 years, all the assassinations that the US has, directly or indirectly, carried out in Iran, and military interventions in the past year alone.

The Algiers Accords were signed at a time when Iran had the upper hand in dealing with the US. After many attempts at diplomacy failed to release the US personnel, the Carter administration launched “Operation Eagle Claw,” a covert military operation on April 24, 1980, aimed at rescuing its personnel in Tehran. The operation turned into a fiasco when severe weather in the Iranian desert city of Tabas and mechanical failures caused Jimmy Carter to abort the operation. Eight US service representatives died, one transport plane and one helicopter were destroyed in a collision, and five additional helicopters were either abandoned or captured by Iranian forces. Then, after 444 days of Iran not blinking and holding the Americans, a frustrated and desperate US president signed the Algiers Accords, having, of course, no intention of abiding by them.

Similar to the Algiers Accords, the June 17, 2026, MOU came out of the desperation of a US president, albeit a criminally insane president. Following the advice of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli butcher of Gaza, Operation........

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