US lifts blockade of Iran and Iranian supreme leader endorses direct talks with American officials
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said “the face-to-face negotiations that will be held in the future will not mean accepting the enemy’s point of view.”
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WASHINGTON : The US on Thursday (Jun 18) lifted its blockade of Iran, and oil tankers began freely moving through the Strait of Hormuz after months of being unable to use the critical channel, as the tentative agreement to end the war took effect.
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance announced that he may postpone a trip to Switzerland that had been planned for Friday and included a ceremonial signing of the deal. The visit might have helped start talks on the next, potentially even more critical, round of negotiations between the two sides.
Hours later, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei endorsed direct negotiations with the US in a statement read by state media. It was Khamenei’s first reaction to the agreement.
"In principle, I had a different view (about the memorandum of understanding), but I issued my permission due to the commitment that the honourable (Iranian) president, as the chairman of the Supreme National Security Council, gave me on behalf of himself and other members to protect the rights of the Iranian nation and the Resistance Front," Khamenei said in message read on state television
Khamenei has not been seen in public since he took office in March following the killing of his father and predecessor Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 that sparked the regional war.
The message was his first reaction to the Iran-US deal to end the conflict that was signed by US Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Khamenei said Trump had "used all kinds of levers" to secure the deal "out of desperation".
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In his message, Khamenei noted that he received assurances from Pezeshkian about the deal and that it would not be accepted "if the American side wants to make excessive demands".
"It is obvious that the face-to-face negotiations that will be held in the future will not mean accepting the enemy's point of view," he added.
Alan Eyre, a distinguished diplomatic fellow at the Middle East Institute, said Khamenei's remarks reflect a longstanding approach by Iran's supreme leadership of keeping some distance from major policy decisions.
“(Khamenei) is not deferring to the president. This is typical behaviour from the supreme leader's office – they're trying to create a buffer, so they don't get blamed if things go badly,” he told CNA’s Asia First programme.
Despite the breakthrough, analysts remain sceptical that the US-Iran agreement will lead to a comprehensive settlement within the proposed 60-day timeframe.
“I have real doubts that this US administration has the inclination or the ability to negotiate a deal that will put Iran's nuclear programme back in a box and close its path to weaponisation,” Eyre said.
Instead, he warned that the two sides could end up in a prolonged "neither war, neither peace" situation.
He added: “It's clear what Trump wanted to do with this memorandum of understanding was not solve the nuclear issue, but just get the Strait of Hormuz back open, because, as he himself said, every day it stays closed, economic consequences were compounding.”
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