Mojtaba Khamenei frames Trump deal as 'tactical pause' in 'forever war' with US: expert
Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's statement following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) underscored that Tehran is not endorsing peace with the United States, analysts warned Thursday.
Khamenei, they said, was all but "authorizing a tactical pause" amid "another stage in a forever war" with the United States.
In the statement, Khamenei said Iranian officials had made extensive efforts "out of compassion and goodwill" to reach the agreement Wednesday, while describing Trump as acting "out of desperation" and using "all kinds of leverage" to secure it.
Khamenei also said he approved the agreement after President Masoud Pezeshkian pledged on behalf of himself and other council members to safeguard Iran's national rights and the interests of the Resistance Front.
"Khamenei is not endorsing peace with America. He is authorizing a tactical pause while protecting the Resistance Front, shifting responsibility to the elected administration, and preserving the ideological framework of permanent confrontation," counterterrorism expert Dr. Omar Mohammed told Fox News Digital.
"The phrase ‘Resistance Front’ is the tell. Tehran is saying that any deal with Washington must preserve the armed network Iran uses from Lebanon to Yemen," he added.
"This is not the language of reconciliation. It is the language of regime insurance."
Mohammed, director of the Antisemitism Research Initiative Program on Extremism at George Washington University, also said Khamenei's assertion that future negotiations do not mean acceptance of the enemy's position was crucial in the statement.
"It tells the IRGC, Iran’s proxies, and the domestic hardline base that this is “not normalization. It is a pause.”
"I would read this text with caution," Mohammed warned.
"It does not feel like a personal note from a leader; it feels like a curated regime document designed for the IRGC, Iran’s proxies, the Iranian public, the current administration, and Washington all at once."
"If Mojtaba personally directed this message, it suggests he has access to the full state file and is managing the presidency, the security council, the IRGC, and the proxy network. If he did not, then the security apparatus may be speaking through his name to project continuity."
Mohammed also said the religious ending of the statement matters.
"This is not ordinary diplomatic language. It is a revolutionary language designed to present a diplomatic pause as another stage in a forever war" Mohammed added.
Liberals are like a "Slinky". Totally useless, but somehow ya can't help but smile when you see one tumble down a flight of stairs!
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