TEHRAN
\nThe deal between Iran and the United States to end the Middle East war is \u201cAmerica\u2019s declaration of defeat,\u201d Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the head of the Iranian negotiating team, said on Wednesday.
\n\u201cThe Islamabad understanding was not the result of pressure and coercion, but rather the result of the resistance and authority of the brave Iranian nation,\u201d Ghalibaf said, referring to the text finalized through Pakistani mediation.
\n\u201cThat is why, the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding became a declaration of America\u2019s defeat,\u201d he said, adding that security in the Middle East must be ensured by the countries of the region.
\n\u201cWe consider the withdrawal of foreign military forces from the region a strategic goal\u201d because, \u201cnot only do they not create sustainable security but they are also a source of instability,\u201d said Ghalibaf, who also serves as his country\u2019s parliament speaker.
\nHe was addressing a conference in Azerbaijan\u2019s 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.
\n\u201cWe see the future of the region not in confrontation but in interaction, and not in elimination but in coexistence,\u201d Ghalibaf said, in what appeared to be an overture to Gulf states targeted by Iranian strikes.
\nIran\u2019s chief negotiator also reiterated that peace in Lebanon was a fundamental pillar of reaching a definitive agreement with Washington. \u201cFor 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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TEHRAN The deal between Iran and the United States to end the Middle East war is \u201cAmerica\u2019s declaration of defeat,\u201d Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the head of the Iranian negotiating team, said on Wednesday. \u201cThe Islamabad understanding was not the result of pressure and coercion, but rather the result of the resistance and authority of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":552947,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-552934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n