TEHRAN: Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday he had authorised a memorandum of understanding signed between Iran and the United States despite holding reservations about the agreement, after receiving assurances from senior Iranian officials that the country’s interests would be protected.
In a written message to the nation, Khamenei said President Masoud Pezeshkian and other officials had pledged to safeguard Iran’s rights and the interests of the so-called “Resistance Front” during the implementation of the agreement.
Khamenei said Pezeshkian, as head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, had accepted responsibility for ensuring that Tehran would not concede to what he described as excessive American demands.
The agreement, signed by U.S. President Donald Trump and Pezeshkian, initiates a 60-day period of negotiations aimed at addressing broader disputes between the two countries, including Iran’s nuclear programme.
However, uncertainty remained over the next phase of diplomacy. It was unclear whether Iranian and American delegations would hold planned talks in Switzerland, with U.S. Vice President JD Vance indicating that technical negotiations may take place later in the weekend rather than on Friday as previously announced.
The agreement triggered a decline in global oil prices and raised expectations of a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy shipping route that Iran had blockaded during the conflict.
The U.S. military announced on Thursday that it had lifted its naval blockade of Iranian ports, allowing commercial shipping to resume. However, it said American naval forces would remain deployed in the region.
Maritime tracking data showed several commercial vessels, including Saudi oil tankers and a liquefied natural gas carrier, transiting the Strait of Hormuz for the first time since the conflict began.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council announced that ships seeking passage through the waterway would be required to obtain approval from a newly established government body. It added that no transit fees would be charged for the next 60 days under the terms of the agreement.
The deal is intended to formally end the U.S.-Iran conflict that escalated into five weeks of war before a ceasefire was reached in early April.
Under the agreement, Washington will immediately waive oil sanctions on Iran. The memorandum also outlines plans for the United States to facilitate a $300 billion reconstruction fund backed by regional countries once a final agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme is reached.
The accord has drawn mixed reactions in both countries. In the United States, Republican Senator Bill Cassidy criticised the agreement, arguing it failed to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions and rewarded Tehran’s strategy of threatening shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump defended the deal, describing it as a “victory” and warning that the United States would respond forcefully if Iran violated its commitments.
Iranian officials also sought to portray the agreement as favourable to Tehran. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf described it as evidence of American failure, while President Pezeshkian called it a historic achievement.
Despite the diplomatic breakthrough, concerns remain over the durability of the agreement. French President Emmanuel Macron, who hosted the signing ceremony at the Palace of Versailles, cautioned that the conflict may not be fully resolved and said lasting peace would depend on the outcome of the upcoming negotiations.