Iran says deal to end Mideast war 'declaration of US defeat'

TEHRAN: The deal between Iran and the United States to end the Middle East war is “America’s declaration of defeat”, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the head of the Iranian negotiating team, said on Wednesday.

“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, referring to the text finalised through Pakistani mediation.

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

“We consider the withdrawal of foreign military forces from the region a strategic goal” because, “not only do they not create sustainable security but they are also a source of instability”, said Ghalibaf, who also serves as his country’s parliament speaker.

He was addressing a conference in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku on Wednesday, which was broadcast on Iranian television.

The United States maintains military bases in the Middle East and the host countries were targeted by Iranian attacks during the war in retaliation for the bombing of Iran by US and Israeli forces.

“We see the future of the region not in confrontation but in interaction, and not in elimination but in coexistence,” Ghalibaf said, in what appeared to be an overture to Gulf states targeted by Iranian strikes.

Iran’s chief negotiator also reiterated that peace in Lebanon was a fundamental pillar of reaching a definitive agreement with Washington.

“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.”