Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei this week pledged that Tehran would not relinquish its nuclear or missile capabilities, dampening prospects for a comprehensive deal even as Pakistani mediators worked to deliver an updated Iranian peace proposal to Washington. Khamenei indicated that Tehran would also retain control over the Strait of Hormuz — the chokepoint at the center of the current conflict.
The remarks delivered through Iranian state media carried particular weight given the ongoing succession dynamics inside Tehran. Mojtaba Khamenei’s consolidation of decision-making authority has shifted Iran’s negotiating posture toward more hardline framings than during the early phase of the conflict, when civilian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was the primary public voice.
“The Islamic Republic will not surrender what it has built over decades to outside pressure,” Khamenei said in remarks framed as a response to U.S. demands for verifiable constraints on the nuclear program. “The Strait of Hormuz is part of the homeland and will be defended as such.”
U.S. officials have consistently maintained that any deal must include enforceable limits on Iran’s nuclear program. The April 27 proposal that Tehran submitted via Pakistan attempted to defer that question to a later phase — a sequencing the Trump administration has called unacceptable. Friday’s updated proposal reportedly addresses some U.S. concerns, but Trump’s public response (“I’m not satisfied with it”) suggested the gap remains wide.
European foreign ministries continue to push for a more comprehensive framework. German Chancellor Merz, French President Macron, and U.K. Prime Minister Starmer convened a Paris coalition earlier this month focused on Hormuz security and shipping. The European position has been that any deal must address both the strait and the nuclear program in parallel, not sequentially.
Markets read Khamenei’s remarks as a near-term ceiling on diplomatic optimism. WTI fell from a 4-year intraday high of $111 on Thursday to settle at $101.94 on Friday after the updated Iranian proposal arrived, but analysts noted the conflict remains structurally far from resolution. For more, see our geopolitics dashboard and Iran topic hub.