Iran on Wednesday described its recent agreement with the United States as a “declaration of America’s defeat,” as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio began a Gulf tour aimed at reassuring regional allies following months of conflict and instability in the Middle East.
Speaking after the signing of a US-Iran memorandum of understanding brokered through Pakistan, Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the agreement was achieved through the “resistance and authority” of the Iranian people rather than external pressure.
“The Islamabad understanding was not the result of pressure and coercion, but rather the result of the resistance and authority of the brave Iranian nation,” Ghalibaf said. “That is why the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding became a declaration of America’s defeat.”
The agreement follows a conflict that began with a large-scale US-Israeli military campaign against Iran on February 28 and triggered widespread regional instability. During the war, Iran retaliated by launching drones and missiles at Gulf states and disrupting maritime traffic in a strategic energy shipping route.
