Mojtaba Khamenei issues first statement after Iran-US memorandum

One day after Iran and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, issued a written statement on Thursday evening addressing the deal for the first time. He said the agreement was reached only after officials made “vigorous efforts” out of “concern and good intentions,” even though, in his words, the U.S. president had used different forms of pressure because of a sense of helplessness in achieving the goal.

Khamenei said he had initially opposed the deal, but approved it anyway after receiving a commitment from the president, acting as chairman of the Supreme National Security Council, “in his name and in the name of the rest of the members,” to safeguard “the rights of the Iranian people and the resistance front.”

The statement came a day after the signing of the understanding between the presidents of Iran and the United States. The article said further details would follow.