TEHRAN, June 18 (Xinhua) — Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday that despite having a different opinion, he issued the permission for signing a peace memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Tehran and Washington.
He made the remarks in a message addressed to Iran’s people, which was carried by Iranian media, hours after Pezeshkian and his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, signed the MoU on ending the war.
Khamenei said the relevant Iranian officials made considerable efforts “out of compassion and goodwill” on the path to reach this stage, adding, “Of course, it was the U.S. president who used all kinds of levers for this purpose.”
He stressed, “In principle, I had a different opinion, but I issued the permission owing to the commitment that the esteemed (Iranian) president, as the chairman of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), gave me on behalf of himself and other members to protect the rights of the Iranian nation and the resistance front, and after he stated that he would accept the responsibility for it.”
Khamenei added that Pezeshkian and other SNSC members had also stated that if the United States seeks to put forward “excessive demands,” they would not accept them.
He emphasized that from this moment on, he and the “proud” Iranian nation will wait for the fulfillment of the conditions set by Iran under the MoU, noting, however, that “the in-person negotiations that will be held in the future will not mean accepting the enemy’s position.”
Iran, the United States and Pakistan early Monday announced the finalization of the MoU to end the war on all fronts, including Lebanon. The Iranian and U.S. presidents signed the MoU electronically early Thursday.
On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. bases and assets in the region.
