Middle East — 2026-06-21

Iranian MP Fired on Live TV After Reading Khamenei Classified Letters Opposing US Nuclear Talks

BLUFKhamenei is unlikely to repudiate the MOU within 30 days, but Nabavian's broadcast has armed hardliners with a durable baseline to challenge every downstream concession in Lausanne.

On Sunday, hardline MP Mahmoud Nabavian read what he described as top-secret Khamenei's correspondence on IRINN live television, claiming the Supreme Leader had opposed the Iran-US memorandum of understanding 12. The three letters read on air were dated April 5, April 19, and May 24; Nabavian claimed they documented Khamenei setting 11 conditions for negotiations, including exclusive Iranian management of the Strait of Hormuz, full uranium enrichment recognition, war reparations, and frozen asset releases, none of which appeared in the signed text 123. IRIB cut the feed after roughly 11 minutes, announced legal proceedings against Nabavian, and accepted the resignation of IRINN's director general 134. Iranian analyst Saeed Ajorloo, described as central to the ongoing negotiations, said Nabavian drew selectively from 20 Khamenei's letters and distorted their content, with 17 letters left unread on air 12.

Analysis
Khamenei is unlikely to formally repudiate the MOU or demand renegotiation within 30 days. Moderate confidence rests on the regime's immediate suppression of the broadcast rather than any validation of Nabavian's claims, near-unanimous SNSC backing, and Khamenei's own reluctant public framing of his authorization. The broadcast may instead represent a calculated hardline operation to entrench maximalist conditions on the public record, with Nabavian selectively drawing from 20 letters while leaving 17 unread, a pattern more consistent with domestic political shaping than authentic disclosure and one where letter authenticity rests entirely on Iran International as the sole primary reporter, other outlets providing secondary amplification only. Washington can treat hardline pressure as domestic friction and continue advancing implementation unless Khamenei moves to repudiate within that window, at which point the delegation must reassess whether the technical track retains institutional backing.
4 sources
  1. Hardliner reveals 'top-secret' Khamenei objections to US talks on state TV - Iran International
  2. Iranian MP leaks Khamenei letters on US deal, sparks legal action - The Jerusalem Post
  3. Iranian MP Fired Live on Air After Reading Khameneis Top Secret Letters - JFeed
  4. Khamenei's MoU stance stirs debate as Iran and US meet in Switzerland - Al Jazeera

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UNCLASSIFIED // OPEN SOURCE