Svmuu News: According to four officials familiar with the details of the meeting, Iranian President Pezeshizyan visited Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei during the final stages of negotiations, when the Supreme Leader was hesitating to approve a preliminary ceasefire agreement. The Iranian president told the Supreme Leader that the economic situation was dire, that the U.S. naval blockade was strangling Iran, and that he would resign if the Supreme Leader rejected the agreement. Additionally, Abdulnasser Hemmati, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, wrote a letter to Khamenei stating that the country was facing a severe budget crisis and that, if the naval blockade continued, critical food and medical supplies would be exhausted by the end of August.
In his letter, Hemmati explained that Iran could not sell oil on the scale required or find alternative trade routes. These statements played a key role in Mujtaba’s ultimate decision to support the agreement. In a brief public statement, he said that although he opposed the agreement “in principle,” he would instruct the president to proceed if the president secured the support of the Supreme National Security Council. Pezeshchiyan stated that the council approved the agreement by a vote of 12 to 1 out of 13 members. (Jin Shi)