An Iranian hardline lawmaker sparked a major stir on live state television after reading what he described as highly secret letters and correspondence from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. During the interview, Mahmoud Nabavian, a member of parliament and of the influential National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said he was exposing Khamenei’s true view of talks with the United States. The broadcast was abruptly halted mid-interview.
Nabavian said the letters showed that Khamenei had repeatedly and forcefully rejected the direction of the negotiations with Washington, especially in meetings and instructions given in April. According to him, Khamenei complained that the delegation had not respected the red lines set for it and stressed that Iran was under no time pressure and did not need a deal at any price.
He said the only goal of the talks, from Tehran’s perspective, should be ending the war and receiving huge compensation, not discussing Iran’s nuclear program. Nabavian quoted Khamenei as ordering the negotiating team to remove the nuclear issue from the agenda “forever” unless there was full international recognition of Iran’s right to enrich uranium, which he said would amount to a complete victory.
The leaked material also described an aggressive Iranian plan for maritime control in the Middle East, centered on the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Nabavian said Khamenei viewed the strait as Tehran’s main and only leverage against the West, and that control should remain solely Iranian, without even cooperation with Oman. He said ships linked to Iran’s allies would pass freely and without charge, other vessels would pay heavy fees, and some ships would be forcibly stopped.
The remarks came while the Iranian delegation was in Switzerland for official talks. After the disclosure, state broadcaster officials cut the program, announced criminal proceedings against Nabavian, and forced a senior manager to resign immediately.
