Where do Iran’s political factions stand on the US peace deal?
Iran’s rival political camps are locking horns over a memorandum of understanding with the US. Tehran, Iran – Iran Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s reservations about
Iran’s rival political camps are locking horns over a memorandum of understanding with the US. Tehran, Iran – Iran Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s reservations about his country’s interim peace deal with the United States have emboldened the country’s hardline political grouping, which opposes any concessions with Washington. Iran’s new supreme leader appears to have handed responsibility for the deal over to President Masoud Pezeshkian, a relative moderate, who is now under fire from a more hardline camp that believes war with the US could restart soon. The agreement, signed by Pezeshkian and US President Donald Trump – through mediation by Pakistan, Qatar and others – is also challenged by all political factions in Israel, who advocate military action against Iran to weaken Tehran and its “axis of resistance” coalition, including the Hezbollah armed group in Lebanon. Here’s a look at the internal dialogue in Iran since the memorandum of understanding was signed, and how different camps in Iran are framing it. What did Khamenei say? Khamenei has not been seen or heard from publicly since succeeding his father, Ali Khamenei, as supreme leader in March, but his view has been made clear on the Iran-US deal. “I, as a matter of principle, held a different view,” a brief, written statement attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday said, in reference to the signing of the MoU with the US. But it said he granted his permission after “explicit acceptance of responsibility” by President Pezeshkian, as head of the Supreme Security Council.
He “also explicitly stated that if the American side seeks to make excessive demands, they will not submit to them”, he said of Pezeshkian. The statement said that upcoming in-person negotiations “will not mean acceptance of the enemy’s position”. Iranian state-linked media have said Khamenei also conditioned that at least three-quarters of the members of the security council, including military commanders, would have to approve the deal. Almost all members are believed to have voted in favour of the deal, but the details of the voting process are still unconfirmed. What are the authorities saying? The Supreme Security Council released a statement to reassure Khamenei that it will abide by safeguarding “the rights of the Iranian nation and the resistance front” while honouring the memory of Iranian leaders killed during the war with the US. The council will advance talks with “total distrust” towards the US and has pre-determined plans to retaliate if the other side violates any provisions, it said. Pezeshkian called the text a “historic document and a message from a powerful Iran that peace will be realised under the shadow of mutual respect”. “This text reflects the voice of a nation that has not traded its dignity and independence for any threat or pressure,” he wrote on X. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator, thanked Khamenei for his “guiding and wise message” and said while the MoU consolidated gains made in the war into the negotiation process, it was only “the beginning of a difficult and winding road”.
The BriefWire