Khamenei: Trump was desperate for a deal—we weren’t

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei struck a defiant tone just hours after Tehran signed its memorandum of understanding with the United States, warning that Iran will never submit to Washington’s “excessive demands.”

Khamenei revealed he had opposed the agreement in principle and approved it only after receiving personal guarantees from President Masoud Pezeshkian and Iran’s negotiating team that the country’s interests and the “Resistance Front” would be protected. He insisted it was President Donald Trump who was “desperate” to secure the deal, not Iran.

The comments underscore the fragile nature of the agreement. Even as the two sides begin a 60-day negotiating period, Tehran is already drawing red lines, insisting its ballistic missile program is non-negotiable, its enriched uranium will remain inside Iran, and warning that continued Israeli operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon would be viewed as a violation of the agreement.

Donald TrumpIran's Supreme LeaderMojtaba KhameneiUS-Iran deal