Iranian supreme leader endorses direct negotiations with US

WASHINGTON — Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtab Khamenei endorsed direct negotiations with the U.S. late Thursday in a statement read by state media. “It is obvious that the face-to-face negotiations that will be held in the future will not mean accepting the enemy’s opinion,” he said. It was Khamenei’s first reaction to the deal recently reached between Iran and the U.S. to end hostilities. The supreme leader has not been seen in public since he was wounded in a strike at the start of the war. Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that the U.S. Navy has allowed more than a dozen ships through to Iranian ports, lifting a blockade as part of an agreement to end the war. Vance made the announcement at a White House press briefing, where he said more oil is now flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. The Republican vice president said more than 12.5 million barrels went through the shipping channel Wednesday night. “So we’re also honoring our end of the early part of the agreement on the military side,” Vance said, citing it as an immediate benefit of the deal as he downplaWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times