The Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday Iran’s future commitment to the international nuclear agreement after the US pullout must be subject to “definitive guarantees” from the European countries.
“Now it is said that we will remain [in the agreement] with the three European countries. I do not trust these countries. Do not trust them. If you want to make an agreement, binding and definitive guarantees must be in place or else they will do what the US did,” his official website reported.
“If you can get the guarantees – though I think that is very unlikely, then it would be fine [continue the deal]. But if you cannot obtain definitive guarantees, we cannot remain in the JCPOA,” he said, referring to the official name of the landmark 2015 agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The Leader’s remarks came after President Hassan Rouhani said late on Tuesday that Iran would remain committed to the deal without Washington despite President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from it.
“If we accomplish the deal’s goals in cooperation with other members of the deal, it will remain in place,” Rouhani said in a live TV speech.
“I have ordered the Foreign Ministry to negotiate with the European countries, China and Russia in the coming few weeks. If at the end of this short period we realize that we can fully benefit from the JCPOA with the cooperation of all countries, the deal will survive,” he said.
Rouhani said there is a "short time" for the deal to endure without Washington’s involvement and noted that should the new negotiations fail "industrial level" uranium enrichment will resume.
Under the deal, struck between Iran, the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France and Germany, Tehran curbed its nuclear program in return for lifting the economic and banking sanctions.
***JCPOA Was a Pretext
Pointing to the US animosity toward the Iranian nation, the Leader said its withdrawal from the international agreement demonstrated that Iran’s nuclear activities, which had peaceful applications, were just a pretext for Washington to put pressure on Iran.
“There were some who said ‘why are you trying to keep the nuclear program. Just put it aside [and make a deal with the US]. These remarks were wrong … I told them that the US problem with Iran is not about the nuclear program. That it is only a pretext. They insisted that that was not the case.”
“Now you see that it is indeed the case, we accepted the JCPOA but the US animosities towards the Islamic Republic have not ended. Now they are raising the issue of our presence in the region and missiles, but [their hostility] will not end even if we accept [restrictions],” he told a meeting of teachers and students in Tehran.
***Root of US Hostility
The Leader recalled that US hostility towards Iran has its origins in the Islamic Revolution of 1979, which toppled the US-backed shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
“Their opposition to the Islamic Republic is due to the fact that the revolution ended the total domination of the US over Iran. They want rulers in countries who carry out US orders and the US can take their money and replace rulers whenever it wants–like some of the rulers in the Persian Gulf states who are subservient to the US.”
***Impudent Remarks
Ayatollah Khamenei also responded to Trump’s announcement on Tuesday night that he is walking away from the nuclear deal and reinstating sanctions over Washington’s dissatisfaction at the agreement that did not include restrictions on Iran’s regional role and its missile program.
“You all heard last night the cheap and impudent remarks of the US president,” Ayatollah Khamenei told the gathering. “There were maybe more than 10 lies in what he said. He threatened both the establishment and the Iranian nation that he will do this and that, and I tell him on behalf of the Iranian people: Mr. Trump! Like hell you will!”
***EU Negotiations Are Key
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran’s decision to remain or pull out of the agreement will depend on the result of his upcoming negotiations with other signatories of the deal.
“In response to persistent US violations and its unlawful withdrawal from the nuclear deal, as instructed by President Rouhani, I will embark on a diplomatic initiative to see whether or not the other parties to the JCPOA can ensure its full benefits for Iran,” as enshrined in the original agreement, Zarif wrote Tuesday in a post on his Twitter account.
“The outcome (of the new talks) will determine our response,” he said.
***No Mental Capacity
Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani said Trump’s remarks and his dumping the nuclear deal visibly shows he does not have the “mental capacity to deal with issues.”
“Trump’s abandoning of the nuclear deal was a diplomatic show.Iran has no obligation to honor its commitments under the current situation,” the senior lawmaker said. “It is obvious that Trump only understands the language of force.”
Chairman of the General Staff of Armed Forces Mohammad Baqeri said Iran had not had to sign the deal.
“The JCPOA was not our favorite option from the very first day and we should not have accepted it. But the Iranian nation agreed to the pact to leave no excuse.”
“[The US exit] shows we should stand on our own feet and not rely on such things as the JCPOA,” he said.
***Europeans Tied to US
Commander of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps said that Europeans were tied to the United States and cannot make an independent decision, Fars News reported.
Leaders of France, Germany and the UK have urged Trump not to take steps that would make life harder for other countries that want to stick to the international nuclear agreement underpinned by the United Nations Security Council.
But Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari cast doubt on their ability to act on their own or save the deal that many believe will hardly survive due to Washington’s hostility and the enmity of its junior partners in the Middle East.
“It’s clear that the Europeans cannot take an independent position between Iran and America and are tied to the latter,” he said. “The fate of the nuclear agreement is obvious.”
