Iranian Cleric Rejects Thaw of Relations with US
"The US wants to induce that the ices of relations have melted while this is not true," Ayatollah Khatami said, addressing a large and fervent congregation of Iranian people on Tehran University campus who had gathered for Eid al-Adha prayers on Thursday.
Noting that the US is the enemy of Islam, he said, "The US is the enemy of Islam for its support for the butcher and usurper Zionist regime, creating terrorist groups, including the ISIL, and supporting the crimes in Yemen, Bahrain and Syria."
Ayatollah Khatami also warned that after the nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers and the removal of nuclear-related sanctions, the US is now after imposing human rights embargos against Tehran.
In relevant remarks earlier this month, Commander of Iran's Basij (volunteer) Force Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi underlined that the US hostile behavior towards Iran was not related to Tehran's nuclear program.
"No doubt, Iran's nuclear issue is not the cause of the US problem with us; they actually have a problem with Iran's Islamic establishment in essence," Naqdi said, addressing a gathering in the Northern province of Qazvin.
He said the US officials used to threatened every now and then are now threatening the country in different forms every day.
"The Americans see themselves as the owner of the world and therefore, they don't sit silent when they see independent nations like the Iranian nation," Naqdi said.
His remarks came after Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei blasted the US statesmen for their contradictory remarks after the nuclear agreement with Tehran, and called on the Iranian officials show more sensitivity and give proper response to their comments.
"In the nuclear talks with are negotiating with the 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany), but the US administration is, in fact, the main party; but the US officials speak very badly and a decision needs to be taken about the manner they speak," Ayatollah Khamenei said in a meeting with the head and members of Iran's Assembly of Experts in Tehran earlier this month.
"Don’t say that the Americans are uttering these words to convince their internal rivals; of course, I believe that the internal disputes in the US are real and they have differences and the reason for such a difference is clear to us, but what is officially said needs a response and if no response is given to them, the other side's remarks will be entrenched," he added.
Ayatollah Khamenei also referred to the US officials' remarks on the suspension of sanctions, and said Tehran has always underlined the necessity for the termination and not suspension of embargoes.
"If the sanctions are not due to be removed, then there will be no deal either. Hence, there needs to be a decision to be taken in this regard," he added.
He said Iran had made some concessions during the negotiations with the world powers in order to see a removal of the sanctions in return, otherwise we wouldn't have attended the negotiations and Iran could have increased its 19,000 centrifuges to 60,000 centrifuges, continue 20% uranium enrichment and accelerate its research and development activities.
"If the sanctions are due to be suspended, our actions should also be arranged in the form of suspension and not essential measures on the ground," Ayatollah Khamenei said.
"Of course, the other side says that removal of certain sanctions is not within the US administration's authority; in response we say that those sanctions that fall under the US administration and the European governments' authority should be terminated," he added.
Ayatollah Khamenei also blasted the US officials' remarks that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) had created some opportunities for the Americans both inside and outside Iran and in the region, and said, "The Iranian officials shouldn’t allow the US to make use of any opportunity inside the country and they should also try in order not to allow the Americans to find any such opportunity outside Iran because the closer they come to such opportunities, the worse the nations' sufferings, humiliation and backwardness will grow."
He reiterated the complete ban on any negotiation between the Iranian officials and the Americans on other issues, and said there won't be any other talks with the White House, except for the nuclear issue, because "the US positions are fully against the stances of the Islamic Republic."
Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran was not like some other underdeveloped countries that the US officials speak to as they wish, and stressed that Iran was a powerful nation and had already proved its capabilities in action.
He referred to the US officials' remarks that they expected Iran to pick up a different course of action, and said they mean ignoring the Islamic values, non-commitment to the Islamic laws and Iran's compliance with the US policies in the region which include full annihilation of the resistance forces and full hegemony over Syria and Iraq, and they should know that "such a thing will never happen".
Elaborating on the process of the JCPOA's approval in Iran after the nuclear agreement was reached with the world powers in Vienna on July 14, Ayatollah Khamenei underlined that the JCPOA should be precisely scrutinized by experts, and stressed that the parliament should certainly play a role in this regard.
Yet, he said he reserved judgment on the agreement and would not advise "the parliament on how to study the JCPOA or on approving or disapproving it. These are the people's representatives who should decide about it".
Iran and the world powers reached a final agreement in Vienna on July 14 to end a 13-year-old nuclear standoff.
A week later, the UNSC unanimously endorsed a draft resolution turning into international law the JCPOA reached between Iran and the G5+1 over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
Now the US Congress and the Iranian parliament have less than one month to review the deal to approve or reject its practice.