Iranian military leaders celebrated the news on Monday that the country had agreed to the terms of a memorandum of understanding with the United States to end the current conflict, suggesting that the agreement represented “defeat and surrender” for America.
The message from the Iranian armed forces command center, the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, was markedly more belligerent and undiplomatic than the confirmation statements from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and other leaders in the civilian wing of the Iranian regime. These leaders, while emphasizing that they had aggressively defended the interests of the Iranian terror state in negotiations with America, described the memorandum as a victory for Iran but added cautious warnings that Tehran would not celebrate until America completed its obligations as part of the deal.
President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that, after weeks of intense negotiations, the government of Iran had agreed to the terms of a memorandum of understanding that would result in the end of Operation Epic Fury, the Pentagon engagement that began in late February with the elimination of Iranian “supreme leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
As part of Operation Epic Fury, with the aid of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the U.S. military eliminated dozens of senior Iranian regime leaders, leaving the country split between the civilian and terrorist wings of its government competing for power. As part of the conflict, Iran announced a blockade on global commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, to which Washington responded by blockading Iranian ships in the Strait. Both blockades resulted in massive disruptions to the global economy, particularly for trade in fossil fuels between Gulf states and East Asia.
“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete. Congratulations to all!” Trump wrote in a message on his website, Truth Social, on Sunday. “I hereby fully authorize the toll-free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade.”
“Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” he added.
Some reports also indicate that the memorandum of understanding includes an agreement to end hostilities in Lebanon, where the Iranian proxy terrorist organization Hezbollah is engaged in an ongoing war with Israel. Israel has invaded and captured large swathes of Lebanese territory, resulting in the displacement of over 1 million people. As of Monday morning, however, the Israeli government is resisting an end to its operations in Lebanon.
The agreement reportedly will not resolve President Trump’s main concern with Iran: ensuring that its illicit nuclear development, particularly the enriching of large amounts of uranium, ends permanently. Reports indicate that the memorandum of understanding will pave the way to a 60-day period of negotiations to address the nuclear issue, which both sides appear to hope will result in an end to Iran’s nefarious nuclear activities and the lifting of significant financial sanctions on the country.
“We’ll get the nuclear dust later on when we’re ready to go in and do it,” President Trump told the Wall Street Journal this weekend, referring to the enriched uranium, much of it buried underground after American airstrikes in June 2025. “I’d say over the next month or two, there’s no rush.”
The memorandum of understanding is not yet in vigor and is expected to be signed in Switzerland on Friday.
Iranian state media celebrated the news as positive, but spun the agreement to end hostilities as a military victory for Iran. The Khatam al-Anbiya military headquarters issued a statement, shared by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), declaring that Iran’s terrorist military had “proved with strength that the humiliated American and Zionist enemies have no choice but to accept defeat and surrender.”
“The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters has repeatedly warned against all forms of aggression against Iran and elsewhere in the region, emphasizing that the resistance is the only path to victory,” IRNA added.
The Tasnim News Agency, which is believed to have ties to Iran’s terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also published a report citing an anonymous “informed source” claiming that Iran had forced the inclusion of Lebanon into the agreement at the last minute, despite President Trump vocally opposing Israeli operations in Lebanon for weeks.
Tasnim also claimed that the memorandum of understanding left open the door for Iran to impose tolls on ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz with a phrase claiming that “the management of maritime navigation services in the Strait of Hormuz” was the responsibility of Iran and neighboring Oman. The government of Oman has been a key negotiator in the process that led to the current peace deal and maintains friendly relations with the United States, making it unlikely that it would agree to any toll imposition in the Strait risking its diplomatic profile.
The reports from the military wing of the Iranian government differed in tone from statements issued by the civilian arm of the Iranian regime. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was instrumental in the negotiation of the agreement, reportedly used his phone calls with other top diplomats from Turkey, Iraq, and Egypt to assert that Iran is still in a state of significant distrust with the United States and awaits tenuously the signing of the agreement. Araghchi did not, however, boast of any victory or “surrender,” as per the IRNA report on his communications.
“Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has stressed the U.S.’s responsibility regarding the implementation of the MoU with Iran as well as a complete halt to the Israeli regime’s attacks against Lebanon,” IRNA reported. “All sides emphasized the continuation of close consultations on regional developments and strengthening diplomatic efforts to maintain peace and stability.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi offered remarks on Monday in which he allowed himself to grant Iran some credit for its attacks in Operation Epic Fury, which mostly consisted of bombing neighboring Gulf countries rather than engaging in any direct hostilities with the United States, but he took a more sober tone.
“Speaking in a televised interview on Monday, Gharibabadi stressed that the agreement reflects Iran’s leverage derived from its military and diplomatic strength, noting that bringing the adversary to the negotiating table is itself the result of Iranians’ power,” IRNA shared.
Gharibabadi reiterated that Iran fears the United States will not hold to its commitments — after Iran routinely violated the 2015 nuclear agreement under former President Barack Obama — and asserted “implementation of initial U.S. obligations, such as ending restrictions, ending hostilities, and releasing blocked Iranian assets, will be verified before Iran fully enters the next negotiation phase.”
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