In his first public reaction since the signing of an interim agreement between Washington and Tehran, Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei declared on Thursday that he had approved the memorandum of understanding despite holding a fundamentally different view. In a written message read on state television and later posted in English on social media, Khamenei accused US President Donald Trump of having used “all kinds of leverage” to secure the deal “out of desperation”. The endorsement came with carefully calibrated caveats: the supreme leader stressed that he had only granted permission after President Masoud Pezeshkian, in his capacity as head of the Supreme National Security Council, personally guaranteed that the rights of the Iranian nation and the interests of the “Resistance Front” would be safeguarded, and that Tehran would not yield to excessive American demands. Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since he was wounded in the US-Israeli strikes that killed his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei on 28 February, also made clear that future face-to-face negotiations “will not mean accepting the enemy’s point of view”.

Viewed from Tehran, the carefully worded statement served both to legitimise a politically sensitive pact and to insulate the supreme leader from blame should the process collapse. The memorandum, signed remotely by Trump and Pezeshkian with Pakistan and Qatar acting as mediators, commits both sides to an immediate and permanent cessation of hostilities across all fronts, the lifting of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, and the restoration of commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Washington has pledged to lift oil-related sanctions and facilitate a reconstruction fund of at least $300 billion, while Iran has undertaken not to produce or acquire nuclear weapons. Within hours of the signing, US Central Command confirmed it had halted enforcement operations, and Vice President JD Vance reported that more than 12.5 million barrels of oil had transited the strait overnight. Brent crude futures slipped to their lowest level since early March, reflecting a tentative easing of supply fears.

From Washington, the deal was presented as a necessary step to avert what Trump described as an imminent economic catastrophe, though the president also warned that the US stood ready to “bomb” Iran again if commitments were not honoured. The Pentagon, meanwhile, informed lawmakers that it required $80 billion to cover costs from the Iran war and other bills, underscoring the financial strain of the three-month conflict. European capitals greeted the agreement with cautious relief; French President Emmanuel Macron, who hosted the signing ceremony at Versailles, admitted he did not believe the war was truly over. In Israel, where the campaign against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon continues, officials voiced unease, and Tehran has already accused Israeli forces of more than 80 violations of the truce in the past 48 hours. On the streets of Tehran, ordinary Iranians expressed scepticism that the 60-day negotiation window would yield a durable peace, with some fearing a return to hostilities once the interim period expires.

Analysts in London and the Gulf note that the agreement’s architecture leaves considerable room for miscalculation. The two sides are scheduled to begin in-person talks in Switzerland on 19 June, aiming to resolve the most intractable disputes—including the full scope of sanctions relief and the future of Iran’s nuclear programme—within two months. Khamenei’s insistence that he held a different view echoes the pattern of his father, who often permitted negotiations while maintaining public distance, allowing him to claim credit for success or shift responsibility for failure onto elected officials. With global oil reserves at their lowest since 1990 and the Strait of Hormuz only tentatively reopened, the coming weeks will test whether the memorandum can evolve into a comprehensive settlement or merely serves as a pause in a conflict that has reshaped the region’s strategic landscape.