ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator on Wednesday described the newly signed agreement with the US as "America's declaration of defeat" and said the withdrawal of US forces from the region is a "strategic goal" for Tehran.

“The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has become a declaration of America's defeat,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said during a speech, as cited by state broadcaster IRIB.

The deal was not the “result of pressure and coercion,” but rather that of “resistance and authority,” he added, labeling Washington’s objective during the war as “an effort to change the strategic balance of the region.”

The developments come after the US and Iran remotely signed an agreement on Thursday aimed at ending the conflict between the two countries and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Both countries have agreed to negotiate a final settlement within 60 days.
 
Tehran also stressed earlier that a key provision of the deal was for the US to withdraw its forces from around Iran and refrain from increasing its military presence in the region.

“Iran considers the withdrawal of foreign military forces from the region a strategic goal,” Ghalibaf said. 

"No country in the region will find its security in the insecurity of others," he asserted, adding that experience has shown that “the presence of trans-regional forces in West Asia has not only not created sustainable security, but is a source of instability.”

Although Washington said a week earlier that US forces would remain in the region to oversee implementation of the agreement, the US Senate on Tuesday voted to limit presidential war powers regarding Iran by adopting a resolution directing the president to withdraw US military forces from the conflict.

US President Donald Trump shortly afterward sharply criticized the vote, saying Washington had "Iran on the ropes" and claiming Tehran was willing to give the US "practically anything,” while also criticizing the US Senate for holding what he called a "poorly timed and meaningless War Powers Act vote."

The US-Israeli war on Iran began in late February, with Washington seeking to put an end to the Iranian nuclear program and set limits on the country’s missile capabilities.

A round of US-Iran talks in Switzerland was held on Monday, aimed at implementing the memorandum of understanding and finding a permanent resolution to the war in the Middle East.