Iran's Supreme Leader consented truce with US despite holding "different view"
Tehran, June 19
As US and Iranian presidents sign a peace deal in an attempt to end the conflict, Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said that he assented to the Memorandum of Understanding even though he "held a different view".
Khamenei, in his statement, said that Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian assured him that if the US makes excessive demands, they will not submit.
"I, as a matter of principle, held a different view; however, out of the commitment that the esteemed president-as the head of the Supreme National Security Council-gave to me on his own behalf and on behalf of the other members regarding the safeguarding of the rights of the Iranian nation and the Resistance Front, and his explicit acceptance of that responsibility, I granted my permission. He also explicitly stated that if the American side seeks to make excessive demands, they will not submit to them," he said.
Khamenei further stated that US President Donald Trump, out of desperation, used all kinds of leverage to bring this MoU about.
"As you have been informed, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the presidents of Iran and America. In the course of reaching this stage, the officials in charge, out of sincere concern and goodwill, made extensive efforts and of course, it was the American president who, out of desperation, used all kinds of leverage to bring this about," he said.
The Supreme Leader said that from now on, Iran will await the realisation of the conditions of the peace deal.
"From this moment on, we-that is, you, the proud nation, and this humble servant-will await the realisation of the aforementioned conditions. However, it is self-evident that the in-person negotiations that will take place in the future will not mean acceptance of the enemy's position. We hope that the blessed prayers of our Master (may God hasten his noble reappearance) will bring all kinds of victories and triumphs to the honourable nation of Iran. Peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you," he said.
US Vice President JD Vance said during his briefing earlier in the day that they will observe if Iranians honour their side of the deal.
"On the military side, a couple of things that are still true and will be true whether the Iranians comply with the rest of the deal or not. Number one, their nuclear program has been completely destroyed. Their capacity for enrichment, the facilities at which they were using to develop enrichment and develop a potential nuclear weapon, those facilities are still destroyed. Their conventional military is still destroyed. Their capacity to threaten their neighbors is still largely gone. And now we see whether they are willing to comply with the next step of the president's peace plan."
— ANI
Reader Comments
"The American president, out of desperation, used all kinds of leverage" — that's a diplomatic way of saying Trump got what he wanted but Khamenei is spinning it as a loss for the US. Reminds me of how we sometimes have to pay for peace even when it hurts our pride. 😕
Interesting that Vance is saying Iran's nuclear program is "completely destroyed" but then says they'll see if Iran honors the deal. So basically the US already got what they wanted militarily, and now they want assurances on paper. Classic American power play — similar to how they treat us in trade negotiations sometimes.
As an Indian, I watch this with mixed feelings. On one hand, peace in the Middle East is good for India — energy prices, trade, our diaspora. On the other, I worry about a resurgent US-Iran relationship harming our strategic ties with both sides. Our foreign policy needs to be very clever after this. 🤔
I'm skeptical. Khamenei says he "held a different view" but authorized this — that's the same language we had during our own political controversies where leaders did things reluctantly. But to be fair, sometimes going against your principle is the wise choice if the alternative is worse. Let's see how this plays out.
The part about "if the American side seeks to make excessive demands, they will not submit" sounds like Iran is preparing its people for a possible breakdown of talks. That's smart negotiation — manage expectations. Reminds me of how our farmers always say "we
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