Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said Thursday that he authorized a memorandum of understanding between Iran and the United States despite his own reservations after receiving assurances from senior Iranian officials that the agreement would protect Tehran’s interests.
Khamenei said President Masoud Pezeshkian and other top officials convinced him that the deal would safeguard Iran’s rights and preserve the interests of what Tehran calls the “Resistance Front.”
Khamenei said that Pezeshkian personally guaranteed this memorandum would benefit Iran, promising not to fold under pressure if the U.S. makes excessive demands. Despite his own reservations, Khamenei approved the deal after top officials pledged to safeguard the nation’s interests.
Khamenei also sought to reassure hardline supporters that future direct talks with the United States would not signal a shift in Iran’s broader posture toward Washington. He said any face-to-face negotiations with U.S. officials would not amount to accepting “the enemy’s position,” emphasizing that Iranian negotiators would continue to defend the country’s interests.
President Donald Trump has officially signed a copy of the U.S.-Iran peace agreement while attending a dinner at the Palace of Versailles. Two senior U.S. officials confirmed that the memorandum of understanding was finalized remotely on Wednesday evening, putting the terms into effect immediately.
At its core, the framework requires both nations to freeze all hostilities, promise not to launch future military strikes against each other, and respect each other’s territorial integrity. This opens up a 60-day timeline for negotiators to try and lock down a larger deal. On top of that, the agreement phases out U.S. maritime restrictions, clears the way for normal commercial ships to pass through the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, and builds a shared oversight mechanism to monitor compliance.