Iranian lawmaker says US negotiations were authorized by Supreme Leader Khamenei

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has authorized the government’s negotiations with the United States. The confirmation pulls back the curtain on a diplomatic channel that has moved faster than most observers expected.

The authorization underpins a memorandum of understanding signed by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and US President Donald Trump on June 17, 2026. Khamenei reportedly gave his blessing the following day, framing the move as consistent with Iran’s national interests while making clear it does not amount to capitulation.

What the MoU actually covers

The agreement emerged from a period of escalating tensions between Iran, the US, and Israel that intensified after military exchanges began in late February. Rather than a peace deal in the traditional sense, the MoU is better understood as a framework: a handshake agreement that future talks will happen, with guardrails around what each side considers non-negotiable.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, the body that coordinates security policy between the Supreme Leader and elected officials, handled the logistics.

Khamenei’s decision was reportedly shaped by assurances from Pezeshkian and senior officials that the agreement would protect Iran’s sovereign rights and the interests of what Tehran calls the “Resistance Front,” its network of allied groups across the Middle East. The Supreme Leader also emphasized that engaging in discussions would not mean accepting American positions wholesale.

Up to $300 billion in reconstruction funds have been reported as conditional on compliance with the MoU’s terms.

Internal politics are already messy

A surge of internal debate has followed the signing, with hardliners voicing concern about potential concessions on two issues that sit at the core of Iran’s strategic identity: the Strait of Hormuz and the nuclear program.

The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil passes daily.

Follow-up talks have already moved to Switzerland, where implementation strategies are reportedly being hashed out as of late June 2026. The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz appears to be one of the items on the agenda, suggesting that some form of disruption or restriction in the waterway preceded or accompanied the broader conflict.

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