According to a video posted on German Government-owned DW News, on Monday July 6, 2026, Behnam Ben Taleblu, an expert on Iran with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, pointed out a striking contradiction between what former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei long promised and what actually happened during and after Iran’s recent war.
For years, one of Khamenei’s most repeated positions was that Iran would never go to war, never hold negotiations, and never sign a deal with the United States.
Ben Taleblu said this stance was treated by many as a core part of the regime’s identity.
Yet events have unfolded very differently. Iran fought a war, later entered into direct talks with Washington, and this happened both while Khamenei was still alive and after his death in Israeli air strikes.
Ben Taleblu explained this shift matters because a memorandum of understanding now governs a 60-day period between the United States and Iran, involving sanctions relief and a pause in fighting.
He said this arrangement has sparked debate inside Iran, with some seeing it as a sign the regime came out ahead, and others questioning the morality of negotiating with a country that had just targeted the regime’s missile, military, and nuclear programs.
In his words, Behnam Ben Taleblu said, “One of the famous lines of Khamenei for years was that there would be no war, that be no negotiations, that there would be no deal, that there would be no talks, and yet we’ve seen there was a war, there was negotiations, there was talks, even during his life and even after his life,” he said.
Ben Taleblu added that while top decision-makers in Iran appear more unified around this outcome, there is louder disagreement on the edges of the political system, particularly among hardline factions…Discover More
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