The Iranian state media, releasing a statement attributed to the nation’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said Thursday that US President Donald Trump had used “all kinds of leverage” to secure an agreement with Tehran, while insisting Iran entered the deal from a position of strength.
According to the statement, Khamenei said Iranian officials had worked toward the agreement out of “sincere concern and goodwill,” but claimed it was the US president who acted “out of desperation” to bring the deal about.
Khamenei confirmed that Iran had accepted the memorandum of understanding signed with Washington and said future negotiations would take place in person. However, he stressed that Tehran was not committed to accepting broader US demands in any final agreement.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council issuing a warning, said the country despite signing the accord remained heavily distrustful of Washington.
The council said Iranian authorities were monitoring developments “with complete distrust” of what it described as a “faithless and treaty-breaking enemy,” while closely overseeing both the negotiation process and implementation of the agreement, adding “Should any deviation or violation occur on the part of the American side, a reciprocal action will be taken according to the plan determined in advance.”
The agreement is already facing early challenges after direct talks scheduled for Friday were postponed amid renewed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In a flat-out rejection of Khamenei’s remarks, Trump, taking to Truth Social declared “We didn’t meet out of desperation, Iran did. They are FINISHED!”
He said the US would continue with the 60-day negotiation period outlined in the memorandum, although he provided no further details about how the delayed talks would proceed.
Reiterating his claim that Iran would receive no immediate financial benefit under the agreement, he remarked “They get no money, not ten cents,” in response to criticism of the deal from both supporters and opponents in Washington.
Questions still linger over the future release of frozen Iranian assets, which is expected to be discussed during the next phase of negotiations.
The memorandum also includes a provision stating that Washington and regional partners will work on a reconstruction and economic development plan for Iran valued at least $300 billion, though details of how such a programme would be funded remain unresolved.
