Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday that Iran's top security body supports dialogue with the United States. [Reuters]
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday that Iran's top security body supports dialogue with the United States. [Reuters]

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday that the country's Supreme National Security Council, or SNSC, supports Iran's ongoing dialogue with the United States, as the two sides appear to be nearing a final agreement to end their conflict.

Speaking to media executives that day, Pezeshkian said the SNSC had concluded that Iran "must continue to pursue the path of dialogue," according to AFP. He added that the council holds decision-making authority over matters of war and negotiations with the US.

The SNSC is Iran's principal body for overseeing and setting national security policy. Chaired by the president, it includes the speaker of parliament, the head of the judiciary, military commanders, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the ministers of foreign affairs and interior.

Decisions reached by the council must still receive the approval of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Khamenei. The signing of a memorandum of understanding with the United States is said to have received the supreme leader's approval.

Pezeshkian's remarks came after hardliners within Iran criticized the negotiating team over the peace talks with Washington. The US side has said the MOU requires the full opening of the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days of signing and an indefinite ban on Iran acquiring or developing nuclear weapons. Iran, for its part, has maintained that it will retain control over the Strait of Hormuz and that some frozen overseas funds held under sanctions will begin flowing back to Iran immediately upon the MOU's signing.


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