Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday publicly endorsed for the first time the July nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, state news agencies reported. But he warned that Tehran expected all sanctions to be lifted, and said that if they were not, Iran would back away from the deal.
The endorsement by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is the final step in an approval process involving the Supreme National Security Council, the Iranian Parliament and the Guardian Council. Iran can now begin putting in place the measures outlined in the agreement, including dismantling thousands of centrifuges used for enrichment and downsizing a heavy water plant so that it can no longer produce plutonium.
The endorsement was included in a letter addressed to President Hassan Rouhani that included accusations against the United States, Iran’s longtime enemy, and that pointed out several ambiguities in the deal, state television reported.
Ayatollah Khamenei has issued a string of warnings against the United States in recent months, telling Mr. Rouhani that Washington could not be trusted.
Mr. Rouhani has hinted on several occasions at a new start in relations between the two nations, but Ayatollah Khamenei said that is unlikely.
The supreme leader said that he had received two letters from President Obama saying that the United States did not wish to overturn Iran’s political system, which is led by Shiite Muslim clerics.
But Ayatollah Khamenei said argued that the promise had not been kept, and that Mr. Obama should be taken to an international court for his support of “seditionists,” “financing the opponents of the Islamic Republic” and “straightforward military threats.”
Observers have pointed out that Ayatollah Khamenei’s comments against the United States have grown increasingly forceful as the nuclear deal edged closer to becoming a reality.
Ayatollah Khamenei appeared to be trying to make clear on Wednesday that despite the landmark agreement, Iran would continue to view the United States as the “Great Satan,” possibly to appease hard-liners, some of whom wept openly after Parliament voted to endorse the deal.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/22/w...column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
The endorsement by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is the final step in an approval process involving the Supreme National Security Council, the Iranian Parliament and the Guardian Council. Iran can now begin putting in place the measures outlined in the agreement, including dismantling thousands of centrifuges used for enrichment and downsizing a heavy water plant so that it can no longer produce plutonium.
The endorsement was included in a letter addressed to President Hassan Rouhani that included accusations against the United States, Iran’s longtime enemy, and that pointed out several ambiguities in the deal, state television reported.
Ayatollah Khamenei has issued a string of warnings against the United States in recent months, telling Mr. Rouhani that Washington could not be trusted.
Mr. Rouhani has hinted on several occasions at a new start in relations between the two nations, but Ayatollah Khamenei said that is unlikely.
The supreme leader said that he had received two letters from President Obama saying that the United States did not wish to overturn Iran’s political system, which is led by Shiite Muslim clerics.
But Ayatollah Khamenei said argued that the promise had not been kept, and that Mr. Obama should be taken to an international court for his support of “seditionists,” “financing the opponents of the Islamic Republic” and “straightforward military threats.”
Observers have pointed out that Ayatollah Khamenei’s comments against the United States have grown increasingly forceful as the nuclear deal edged closer to becoming a reality.
Ayatollah Khamenei appeared to be trying to make clear on Wednesday that despite the landmark agreement, Iran would continue to view the United States as the “Great Satan,” possibly to appease hard-liners, some of whom wept openly after Parliament voted to endorse the deal.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/22/w...column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
