Iran’s Leader and Security Council Approval Pending for US Peace Deal
Iran’s supreme leader and national security council still need to approve the proposed peace deal between Tehran and Washington, Iranian officials stated on Sunday.
One or two clauses in the proposed peace agreement between the US and Iran require clarification to Iran’s satisfaction before the memorandum of understanding can be forwarded to Iran’s supreme national security council and supreme leader Motjaba Khamenei for ratification, Iranian officials conveyed to Pakistani mediators. This follows US President Donald Trump’s claim on Saturday that a peace deal with Iran “has been largely negotiated” after consultations with Pakistan, Gulf allies, and Israel.
Iran’s Government Responds to Peace Deal Progress
The Iranian government appeared optimistic, preparing to claim a significant and historic victory over its principal adversaries, the US and Israel. Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian remarked:
“What has guaranteed the preservation and stability of the country is the solidarity and empathy of the people.”
The deal reportedly offers Iran sanctions relief and the release of up to $20 billion in frozen assets in exchange for Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and agreeing to negotiate its nuclear program over the next 60 days, starting on 5 June in Pakistan. Details of the remaining disputed points have not been disclosed. At least $12 billion of the assets are held in Qatar.
The agreement also reportedly requires Iran, the US, and their allies to cease hostilities, and for Israel to halt its offensive in Lebanon.
US and Israeli Leadership on Ceasefire Terms
On Saturday, Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the principal advocate for the war since its inception in February, to reassure him regarding the ceasefire terms. Netanyahu expressed concern over the postponement of the nuclear issue but appeared to have limited options other than to accept Trump’s decision to end a domestically unpopular war that has severely impacted the global economy by increasing inflation and causing critical supply shortages.
Regional Leaders Urge Against Renewed Bombing Campaign
Gulf States, along with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, lobbied Trump on Saturday via telephone, urging him to rule out resuming a bombing campaign inside Iran, warning it would provoke Iranian retaliation without toppling the entrenched regime.
Trump, who announced on Friday he would not attend his son’s wedding that weekend citing Iran among the reasons for remaining in Washington, wrote that “final aspects and details” of a “memorandum of understanding” were still under discussion and “will be announced shortly,” but confirmed the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened as part of the deal.
“An agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalisation between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of and the various other Countries,” Trump posted.
The US and Western countries have insisted that Iran should not be permitted to impose tolls on shipping through the strait.
Iran’s Fars news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), stated that the strait would remain under Iranian control, asserting:
“The management of the Strait, determining the route, time, method of passage and issuing permits, will continue to be the monopoly, and at the discretion of, the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
On Saturday, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said governance of the strait is a matter for negotiation between Iran on the north shore and Oman on the south, and not an issue for US involvement.
Nuclear Negotiations and Timeline
Iran also stated it had committed only to negotiate all nuclear-related issues in talks scheduled to last 30 days with an optional 30-day extension, extending the timeline to late summer. No commitments regarding the outcome of these talks have been made, only the topics, effectively reverting the US to the prewar position that existed in Geneva on 26 February, two days before the war began.
The deal reportedly allows Iran to resume the sale of oil and petrochemicals during the negotiation period without risk of sanctions. The US will also lift its counter blockade of Iranian ports.
US Secretary of State Comments on Progress
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in India, said:
“We have made some progress over the last 48 hours working with our partners in the Gulf region on an outline that could ultimately – if it succeeds – leave us not just with a completely open strait … [but also address] some of the key things that underpin what have been Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions in the past.”
Addressing domestic criticism of a deal that does not fully meet US original objectives, Rubio added:
“The idea that somehow this president, given everything he has already proven he is willing to do, is going to somehow agree to a deal that ultimately winds up putting Iran in a stronger position when it comes to nuclear ambitions is absurd. That is just not going to happen. But our preference is to address this through a diplomatic means and that is what we are endeavouring to do here.”
Republican Hawks Criticize Proposed Agreement
News of the potential deal provoked dismay among Republican hawks, who have long advocated for US military action against Iran and criticized the 2015 deal limiting Iran’s nuclear enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief, negotiated during the Obama administration. Trump withdrew from that international agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in 2018.
Mike Pompeo, former CIA director and secretary of state during Trump’s first term, denounced the current proposed agreement as too similar to what Obama’s negotiators had achieved and advantageous to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“The deal being floated with Iran seems straight out of the Wendy Sherman-Robert Malley-Ben Rhodes playbook: Pay the IRGC to build a WMD program and terrorize the world,”
Pompeo referred to Obama’s chief negotiators. He added the alternative is:
“Straightforward: Open the damned strait. Deny Iran access to money. Take out enough Iranian capability so it cannot threaten our allies in the region.”
Robert Malley responded:
“Not quite the path Wendy, Ben or I would have taken. But if this deal brings an end to an unlawful, unjustifiable war, to the senseless loss of life and destruction and to the cascading global economic fallout, I am quite sure we’d willingly accept it over the alternative.”
The White House director of communications, Steven Cheung, responded sharply to Pompeo’s criticism:
“Mike Pompeo has no idea what the fuck he’s talking about. He should shut his stupid mouth and leave the real work to the professionals. He’s not read into anything that’s happening, so how would he know.”
Senators React to Ceasefire and Deal
After Republican Senator Roger Wicker wrote that the “rumored 60-day ceasefire – with the belief that Iran will ever engage in good faith – would be a disaster. Everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught!” Rhodes replied:
“Nothing was accomplished by Operation Epic Fury except putting the IRGC in charge of Iran and the strait of Hormuz.”
Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas warned:
“If the war’s conclusion is to be an Iranian regime – still run by Islamists who chant ‘death to America’ – now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium and develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake.”
Additional reporting by José Olivares and Robert Mackey.
