Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has accused Donald Trump of signing a peace deal “out of desperation” – his first public response since the US lifted its naval blockade of Iranian ports near the Strait of Hormuz. In a statement on Thursday, Khamenei said he had approved the agreement despite holding a “different view”, after receiving assurances from President Masoud Pezeshkian that Iran's rights would be safeguarded. “It was the American president who, out of desperation, used all kinds of leverage to bring this about,” he said, while insisting future face-to-face negotiations would not mean “acceptance of the enemy's position”.
The US Central Command confirmed the end of the blockade on X, stating that some vessels would remain “in the general area” to ensure the agreement is “adhered to, obeyed and in full force and effect”. Vice-President JD Vance told reporters that 12.5 million barrels of oil had passed through the Strait the previous night, and that Iranian forces had not fired on any ships. The 14-point interim deal – signed by Trump and Pezeshkian in Versailles, France, on Wednesday – includes reopening the Strait, a commitment that Iran should never have a nuclear weapon, and a $300bn (£227bn) fund for Iran's reconstruction, although the US is not required to contribute. It also binds both sides to a final deal within 60 days.
“Iran's supreme leader says Trump signed the peace deal 'out of desperation' after the US lifted its naval blockade.”
The agreement has sparked fury among Republicans. Louisiana senator Bill Cassidy said “Reagan is rolling over in his grave”, while former UN ambassador Nikki Haley wrote on X: “This regime chants death to America, murders our troops, and attempts to assassinate Americans on US soil. Now, we plan to unlock billions of dollars and lift sanctions.” Trump's former vice-president Mike Pence argued the memorandum “does smack of the kind of appeasement that our administration rejected in the Obama-Iran nuclear deal”. Ted Cruz told the Daily Wire that “giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is a bad idea”.
The war began on 28 February with US-Israeli strikes that killed Khamenei's father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The US Department of Defence needs $80bn to cover costs from the conflict, deputy defence secretary Stephen Feinberg told lawmakers this week. A resurfaced Trump tweet from 2013 – when he slammed the Obama-era nuclear deal as “a rotten deal” that gave Iran “everything, including delay and big cash” – has drawn comparisons after the new agreement includes similar terms. The formal signing ceremony in Switzerland was cancelled because the deal had already been signed remotely, and Vance has withdrawn from a planned trip to Geneva for technical talks. “The idea that he is going to strike a deal that's bad for the American people, it's preposterous,” Vance said, urging Republicans to “have a little bit of faith in the president”. But for now, the deal has left critics questioning whether Trump's promised “peace through strength” has become a climbdown.