Iran says a Middle East peace deal would be a declaration of U.S. defeat

Iran described the agreement it reached to end the Middle East war as “a declaration of America’s defeat” on Wednesday, as the United States’ top diplomat began a tour of Gulf states most affected by Tehran’s actions.

The conflict, which started with a large U.S.–Israeli strike campaign against Iran on February 28, concluded with the Islamic Republic securing an accord its leaders portray as a victory.

During the war, Tehran retaliated against its adversaries by blocking a key energy shipping lane and launching thousands of drones and missiles at neighboring Gulf countries.

The United States and Iran signed the agreement last week and began a process aimed at achieving a permanent settlement – with the Iranian leadership reshaped but the governing system intact.

“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,” Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Wednesday of the deal, which was finalized through Pakistan’s mediation.

“That is why the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding became a declaration of America’s defeat,” he added, noting that security in the Middle East must be ensured by the region’s own countries.

The United States maintains several military bases across the Middle East, notably in the Gulf, where U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio began a tour on Wednesday to reassure allies.

– ‘Coexistence’ –

Rubio arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and was scheduled to hold closed‑door talks with its leader, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, before flying to Kuwait and then Bahrain, where he will attend a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting.

Rubio said he intended to discuss the U.S.–Iran memorandum of understanding with Gulf leaders, noting that the accord does not address Iran’s missile program or proxies – long‑standing concerns for Gulf states and Israel.

He insisted that no country is allowed to impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz after Oman and Iran, which border the waterway, said they were considering charging “costs” for navigating the key exit route for Gulf oil and gas.

“It’s an international waterway,” he said upon arriving in Abu Dhabi, repeating a position the United States has maintained throughout the war.

“No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway. That’s existing international law.”

Iran, however, remained defiant, suggesting that Gulf nations might benefit more from aligning with the Islamic Republic than with the West.

“We see the future of the region not in confrontation but in interaction and not in elimination but in coexistence,” Ghalibaf said.

Iran’s chief negotiator also reiterated that peace in Lebanon, which was drawn into the war when Tehran‑backed Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel, was a fundamental pillar of reaching a definitive agreement with the United States.

“For us, the ceasefire in Lebanon has been and is as important as the ceasefire in Iran, and the end of the war in Lebanon has been as important as the end of the war in Iran,” Ghalibaf said.

– ‘Like the phoenix’ –

In Lebanon, where Iran insisted a fragile ceasefire now in place was a precondition for a broader agreement, people in areas most affected by Israeli bombing were struggling to clear rubble from their streets.

In the beachside city of Tyre, 40‑year‑old Hussein Hassan told AFP he had fled with his family to northern Lebanon during the war but returned this week to reopen his barbershop.

Tyre residents “love life and work. We shake off the dust and rise up again like the phoenix,” he said proudly, while welcoming customers to his shop, one of its walls cracked and its glass façade blown away.

“Even if there are a dozen wars, we’ll come out from under the rubble… and get back to work,” he said.

The push by Iran’s leaders to portray the agreement with the United States as a win was also directed inward, with some factional divisions and opposition to talks existing within the hierarchy.

Analysts say, however, that such splits will not suffice to derail the negotiating process.

“There are certainly factions seriously opposed to the talks and to any compromises with the United States,” said Yale University lecturer Arash Azizi.

“But it is my assessment that they currently lack the institutional power necessary to block the talks or even do much to shape their outcome.”

Pakistan said Wednesday that technical talks will resume next week.

“I presume on Tuesday,” foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told journalists in Islamabad, adding that next Monday or Wednesday were also possible dates.

One of the key sticking points has been Iran’s nuclear program, long a source of friction with Western powers who suspect Tehran is building a bomb, a claim it has systematically denied.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Tehran had “fully and completely agreed” to allow United Nations inspectors to return to the country, but Iran said it has no intention of doing so.

On Wednesday the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog said inspections of Iranian nuclear sites were “going to happen.”

“Whether this happens today after tomorrow or in one week or in 10 days, it’s important but not essential. This is going to happen,” said Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.