The New York Times reported Thursday that Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, approved the wording of a memorandum of understanding on Saturday and ordered parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf to bring it to a vote in the Supreme National Security Council. The council then approved the deal, despite opposition from at least two hardline members.
According to the report, the decision came amid intense Iranian anger over Israel's strike in Beirut's Dahieh district on Sunday. Iranian officials reportedly prepared missiles in launchers along the country's western border and had instructions to begin firing at Israel around 1:00 a.m. They also told Qatari mediators they intended to attack Israel and freeze the signing of the agreement.
Qatari officials tried to persuade Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Ghalibaf that such a strike would help opponents of the deal. Inside Iran's leadership, President Masoud Pezeshkian, Araghchi and Ghalibaf argued that Benjamin Netanyahu was trying to set a trap for Iran and that the Beirut attack was meant to provoke a response that would escalate the crisis and collapse the agreement.
At that stage, Iran sought last-minute changes to the text, but the Qataris refused. As the dispute continued, they warned Tehran that it risked losing Donald Trump's patience.
