( CNN ) Back in 1989 , Ayatollah Khomeini famously said he was `` drinking poison '' when he accepted a ceasefire to end the eight-year-old war with Iraq . The war had helped define Khomeini 's regime , the Islamic Republic , which he had founded a year before Saddam Hussein invaded Iran . Khomeini galvanized the nation , both his supporters and growing opponents , to fight against the enemy . He dragged out the war for eight years , despite Saddam 's willingness to accept a ceasefire , and thus stabilized the foundations of the Islamic Republic . By the time he ended the war , the economy was in shambles , and there was no sign of his die-hard volunteers . Since then , `` drinking a chalice of poison '' has became part of Iranian political lexicon , and many analysts have asked whether Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , Khomeini 's successor , would raise the chalice and surrender to demands by the West to end Iran 's nuclear program . Like the war , Iran 's defiance to halt its controversial nuclear program has defined Khameni 's era . He has defied the West in the face of increasing economic pressure . Iran claims that its program is peaceful , but Khamenei 's refusal to end uranium enrichment activities -- a process that can lead to making nuclear fuel as well as nuclear bombs -- has landed the country under crippling sanctions . The standoff with the West has stretched longer than the war . The agreement reached in Lausanne , Switzerland , however , marks a new chapter in the history of the country . If Iran can finalize a deal by June with the United States and its P5+1 partners , international investors , including Americans , would be able to invest in Iran for the first time in decades . Iran can develop its gas and oil fields , and the economy can leap forward . Desperate for a deal , whoever I called over the past week inside Iran was glued to their television sets , and tens of thousands poured out on the streets to celebrate the agreement late Thursday night . Iran 's economy shrank after sanctions were intensified in 2012 and the value of the Rial , the Iranian currency , plunged to one-third of the U.S. dollar . Inflation soared and the bank accounts of ordinary Iranians were frozen overseas as a result of sanctions . Millions of Iranians are hoping that their lives will improve in the post-deal era . Despite the regime 's propaganda that claimed the program enjoys wide support among people , critics inside the country publicly denounced nuclear policies . Ahmad Shirzad , a former member of parliament , denounced the program last year and said it had been `` against national interests . '' Another critic , Sadeq Ziba , said in December `` the nuclear program has hurt the country more than the war . '' Iranian politicians are divided between moderates -- led by President Hassan Rouhani , who wants to develop the economy -- and hardliners , who view the deal as a threat to the regime 's ideology . The majority of people brought Rouhani to power in 2012 , hoping that he would ease the sanctions . Many see the negotiations as a diplomatic necessity that would help sideline hardliners too . Yet the Lausanne agreement would not have been possible without the moderates ' will and Khamenei 's approval . Ayatollah Khamenei is 76 . Last year , he underwent a long prostate surgery , which led to rumors that he might be gravely ill. His predecessor ended the war a year before his death . Whether Khamenei is seriously ill or not , many believe that because of his advanced age , he needs to put the country on a straight path before his death . So far , the regime has presented the deal as a win for itself . During 18 months of negotiations , the regime appeared determined not to succumb to Western demands and lose its right to uranium enrichment . The Lausanne agreement allows Iran to spin 5,000 centrifuges and avoid national humiliation . Khamenei can claim that Iran is the winner in the country 's decade-long confrontation with the West -- a legacy that he wants to leave behind . He has not drunk the poison yet , not until June , when negotiators aim to iron out the final deal . But perhaps he has raised the chalice .
Iran 's first Supreme Leader made a bitter peace with Iraq 's Ayatollah Khamanei . Nazila Fathi : Is current leader Saddam Hussein trying to put Iran on right track before he dies ?