Iran Declares US Defeat in Mideast War Settlement, as Rubio Tour Aims to Shore Up Gulf Allies
Iran on Wednesday framed the agreement that ended the Middle East war as a decisive blow to Washington, calling the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding “a declaration of America’s defeat,” even as the top U.S. diplomat began a tour of Gulf nations that bore the brunt of Tehran’s retaliation.
The conflict erupted on February 28 with a massive U.S.-Israeli strike campaign against Iran, but ended with the Islamic Republic signing a deal its leadership has quickly spun as a victory. The war destabilized the region: Tehran retaliated by choking off a key energy waterway and launching thousands of drones and missiles at its Gulf neighbors.
The United States and Iran signed the accord last week, setting in motion a process aimed at a permanent settlement. While Iran’s leadership has been reshaped by the conflict, the core system of rule remains firmly intact.
“The Islamabad understanding was not the result of pressure and coercion, but rather the result of the resistance and authority of the brave Iranian nation,” Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Wednesday, referring to the Pakistan-mediated deal. “That is why the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding became a declaration of America’s defeat.” He added that Middle East security must be guaranteed by regional countries.
The United States retains a network of military bases across the region, particularly in the Gulf, where Secretary of State Marco Rubio kicked off a tour Wednesday aimed at reassuring allies. Rubio arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and planned closed-door talks with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed before traveling to Kuwait and Bahrain for a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting.
Rubio said he would discuss the U.S.-Iran memorandum with Gulf leaders, noting the agreement does not address Iran’s missile program or its proxies—two long-standing concerns for Gulf nations and Israel. He also reiterated that no country may impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz, after Oman and Iran — which border the waterway — floated the idea of charging “costs” for passage. “It’s an international waterway,” Rubio said in Abu Dhabi. “No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway. That’s existing international law.”
Iran pushed back, signaling that Gulf states might fare better aligning with Tehran rather than the West. “We see the future of the region not in confrontation but in interaction, and not in elimination but in coexistence,” Ghalibaf said. He also stressed that peace in Lebanon—where Tehran-backed Hezbollah entered the war by attacking Israel—was a fundamental pillar of reaching a definitive U.S. deal. “For 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,” he said.
In Lebanon, where Iran insisted a fragile ceasefire was a precondition for broader talks, residents in areas hardest hit by Israeli bombardment are struggling to clear rubble. In Tyre, 40-year-old barber Hussein Hassan, who fled to northern Lebanon during the war, returned this week to reopen his shop. “Tyre residents love life and work. We shake off the dust and rise up again like the phoenix,” he said, amid cracked walls and a blown-out glass facade. “Even if there are a dozen wars, we’ll come out from under the rubble … and get back to work.”
The Iranian leadership’s push to portray the deal as a win is also directed inward, as factional divisions and opposition to talks persist within the hierarchy. But analysts say those splits won’t derail the process. “There are certainly factions seriously opposed to the talks and to any compromises with the U.S.,” said Yale University lecturer Arash Azizi. “But it is my assessment that they currently lack the institutional power necessary to block the talks or even do much to shape their outcome.”
Pakistan said Wednesday that technical talks will resume next week, possibly on Tuesday. “I presume on Tuesday,” foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told journalists in Islamabad, adding Monday or Wednesday were also possible dates.
One key sticking point remains Iran’s nuclear program, long a source of friction with Western powers who suspect Tehran is building a bomb—a claim Iran denies. U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Tehran had “fully and completely agreed” to allow United Nations inspectors back into the country, but Iran said it has no such intention. On Wednesday, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, stated inspections of Iranian nuclear sites “are going to happen. Whether this happens today, after tomorrow, or in one week or in 10 days, it’s important but not essential. This is going to happen.”