Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has issued a statement on the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), noting that US President Donald Trump “out of desperation, used all kinds of leverage to bring this about”.

“I, as a matter of principle, held a different view; however, out of the commitment that the esteemed president — as the head of the Supreme National Security Council — gave to me on his own behalf and on behalf of the other members regarding the safeguarding of the rights of the Iranian nation and the Resistance Front, and his explicit acceptance of that responsibility, I granted my permission,” Khamenei writes on X.

“He also explicitly stated that if the American side seeks to make excessive demands, they will not submit to them. From this moment on, we — that is, you, the proud nation, and this humble servant — will await the realisation of the aforementioned conditions,” he adds.

Khamenei notes that in-person talks with the US do not mean “acceptance of the enemy’s position”.