"I Will Resign If the Agreement Is Rejected": Pezeshkian Pressures Khamenei Amid Warnings of Food and Medicine Shortages

2026-07-04T13:47:24.610Z

Informed Iranian sources reported that President Masoud Pezeshkian threatened to resign if the Iranian leadership refused to proceed with the agreement with the United States, warning of economic paralysis caused by the US naval blockade. An urgent message from the governor of the Central Bank about the depletion of food and medicine stocks helped convince Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to accept the memorandum...

Four informed Iranian officials, cited by The New York Times, revealed that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that he would step down if the Iranian leadership refused to proceed with the agreement with the United States, a step that reflected the scale of division and pressure that preceded the memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington last June.

Pezeshkian told Khamenei during a decisive meeting before the signing of the agreement that the US naval blockade had caused widespread paralysis in the Iranian economy, and that continuation of the status quo threatened the country's stability, emphasizing that the government could no longer manage the crisis with traditional mechanisms.

The sources indicated that an urgent message from the governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Abdolnaser Hemmati, played a decisive role in changing the leadership's position, as he warned that Iran faces an unprecedented economic crisis, and that stocks of basic food and medicine could run out by the end of next August if the US blockade continues. They confirmed that these economic warnings, along with political pressure exerted by Pezeshkian and his team, prompted Khamenei to approve the memorandum of understanding despite his previous opposition to the idea of direct negotiations with Washington.

The Negotiation Battle

Over the past months, Pezeshkian led a complex political battle within state institutions to convince power centers of the need to reach an understanding with the United States. He succeeded, alongside Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in building a coalition within the governing institutions that supports the option of negotiations as a strategic necessity to ensure the stability of the regime, not just a temporary political choice.

This camp, despite fierce opposition from the hardline faction, managed to pass fateful decisions that included accepting a ceasefire, conducting direct negotiations with US officials, and eventually signing the memorandum of understanding with the administration of US President Donald Trump.

Conservative Divide

Iran is witnessing an unprecedented division within the system, this time not between reformists and conservatives, but within the conservative camp itself, according to The New York Times.

While the pragmatic camp, which includes Pezeshkian, Ghalibaf, Araghchi, and a number of IRGC commanders, believes that the survival of the regime requires easing confrontation with the West and saving the economy, the hardline faction insists on rejecting any rapprochement with the United States, considering negotiations a strategic concession.

The intensity of the conflict escalated to the point where supporters of the hardline faction accused the negotiation team of "treason," while Araghchi faced extensive political and media campaigns, indicating that the real battle in Iran is no longer just about the agreement with Washington, but about the future of the regime and power balances in the post-war phase.