Iran only secured temporary easing of blockade, hardline influencer says

Iranian hardline figure Jalal Rashidikoochi criticized opponents of the newly released Iran-US understanding on Wednesday, challenging them to identify provisions that allegedly undermined Iran's sovereignty or national interests.

"Gentlemen with lofty claims, exactly which part of this text makes us a colony of America? You foul-mouthed gentlemen, which clause of this memorandum was contrary to the country's interests that you accused the men of the battlefield and diplomacy of spying?" he posted on X.

"Shame on you for thus, out of political grudges and vendettas, gambling away national security and paving the way for insults and vulgarity born of distrust toward the authority. You have become the disgraced ones of history, and I hope the judiciary and security institutions, by dealing with this group properly and correctly, will show that they do not act with double standards in their dealings," Rashidikoochi added.

Iranian political activist Motahare Goonei on Wednesday mocked the newly announced understanding between Tehran and Washington, saying it was contradictory for authorities to maintain a heavy security presence and suppress dissent for months only to ultimately reach an agreement with the United States. She characterized the move as a capitulation made under pressure.

"Imagine you've spent a hundred and ten days turning the streets into a military zone with machine guns and Kalashnikovs, your leader's barely in the ground, not even a single voice message or video clip from the commander you pledged allegiance to gets released; then you surrender with a slap on the wrist and strike a deal with the "Great Satan"! she posted on X.

Iran won the war against the United States and Israel, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, head of Iran’s negotiating delegation and the country's parliament speaker told state television on Wednesday.

“The recent war was a war between the front of truth and falsehood,” Ghalibaf said.

“We did not allow the United States and Israel to achieve the nine goals they set out from the start of the war,” he added.

“When I talk about negotiation and diplomacy, I mean diplomacy of power,” Ghalibaf said, adding that he supported negotiations that were themselves “a form of struggle.”

Ghalibaf said he was the person who distrusted the United States the most and had told US Vice President JD Vance that he had “not the slightest trust” in him.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Wednesday that after speaking to US special envoy Steve Witkoff, he believed signing the memorandum of understanding with Iran would benefit the United States by helping open the Strait of Hormuz and ending hostilities with Tehran.

“Whether or not the United States can reach an acceptable, verifiable deal with Iran regarding its nuclear program and other issues is yet to be determined, but I see little downside to trying,” Graham said in a post on X.

He said the economic stability created by opening the strait and ending hostilities could create “a pathway to peace well beyond the Iranian conflict.”

Graham added that expanding the Abraham Accords and normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel remained his and President Donald Trump’s ultimate goal, saying the signing of the MoU was an essential step toward that aim.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday told reporters that the 60-day period for reaching a final agreement with Iran was not a hard deadline, and that the memorandum of understanding with Tehran would be signed within the next 48 hours.

Trump also said the United States would leave its military in the Persian Gulf “for a while.”