DUBAI/MUNICH: Iran’s supreme leader said Sunday he could accept a compromise in nuclear talks and gave his strongest defense yet of President Hassan Rouhani’s decision to negotiate with the West, a policy opposed by powerful hard-liners at home.

Khamenei’s comments came as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Germany to ratchet up efforts for a lasting nuclear accord.

As his foreign minister met counterparties in the talks at a conference in Munich, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he “firmly” backed a fair nuclear deal.

“I would go along with any agreement that could be made. Of course, if it is not a bad deal. No agreement is better than an agreement which runs contrary to our nation’s interests,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Iranian air force personnel, according to official news agencies.

In a speech that still underlined his suspicions about Western nations that he characterized as “bullies,” Khamenei backed Rouhani’s negotiations with them and said any workable deal would mean both sides easing their demands.

“As the president said, negotiations mean reaching a common point. Therefore, the other party ... should not expect its illogical expectations to be materialized. This means that one side would not end up getting all it wants.”

“I am for reaching a good settlement and the Iranian nation too will certainly not oppose any deal to uphold its dignity and integrity,” Khamenei said, an apparent warning to hard-liners that they might have to accept a deal with powers including the United States.

Negotiators have set a June 30 deadline for a nuclear deal, and Western officials have said they aim to agree on the substance of such an accord by March.

“Our [nuclear] negotiators are trying to take the weapon of sanctions away from the enemy. If they fail, everyone should know there are many ways at our disposal to dull this weapon,” Khamenei said.

Kerry and Zarif met for about 90 minutes on the sidelines of the security conference in Munich, and both voiced their opposition to a further extension to the current March 31 cutoff.

“I do not think another extension is in the interest of anyone, as I do not believe this extension was either necessary or useful,” Zarif told delegates.

Kerry said extending talks until June would be redundant unless basic agreements were in place by the end of March.

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would strive to thwart would be a “bad and dangerous agreement.”

U.S. Senator John McCain, a hawkish Republican, warned in Munich that while Iran was negotiating now, its underlying goal was “to drive Western influence out of the Middle East.”