The assertions by the leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, could be tactical, intended to give both the negotiators and himself some political space to get hard-liners and others slowly accustomed to the framework of a deal with the United States and other world powers reached just a week ago that would guarantee that Iran will not make nuclear weapons. But they also illustrated the difficult hurdles that lie ahead.
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In his remarks, Mr. Khamanei also strongly criticized Irans regional competitor, Saudi Arabia calling its new leaders inexperienced youngsters a sign of rising regional tensions that could pose another threat to the negotiations, even as diplomats strive to keep the issues on separate tracks.
Khamenei.ir@khamenei_irFollow
Despite disputes,#Saudis used to display composure w us but now inexperienced #youngsters have come to power& replaced composure w barbarism
5:16 PM - 9 Apr 2015
Ayatollah Khamenei was speaking about the nuclear talks for the first time since the framework agreement was struck in Lausanne, Switzerland. He said he saw no need to make a clear pronouncement on the agreement, because no signed agreement yet existed.There was no need to take a position, he said. The officials are saying that nothing has been done yet and nothing is obligatory. I neither agree nor disagree.
But he emphasized his longstanding position about the sanctions, saying that they should be lifted all together on the same day of the agreement, not six months or one year later.
If lifting of sanctions is supposed to be connected to a process, then why do we negotiate?
The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, who spoke at a different event on Thursday, echoed the supreme leaders remarks but with a potentially crucial difference, saying the sanctions have to be lifted on the day a deal is put in place, potentially months after a signed agreement.
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Hours after the #talks, Americans offered a fact sheet that most of it was contrary to what was agreed.They always deceive &breach promises.
2:21 PM - 9 Apr 2015
We will not sign any agreement, unless all economic sanctions are totally lifted on the first day of the implementation of the deal, Mr. Rouhani said during a ceremony for Irans nuclear technology day, which celebrates the countrys nuclear achievements.
The ayatollahs comments pose some significant potential challenges to Secretary of State John Kerry and his negotiating team.
Mr. Kerry and President Obama have been clear that sanctions would be suspended in phases, as Iran complies with its obligations. That is critical to American leverage in making sure that Iran follows through on its commitments to vastly reduce its uranium stockpile a process that will take months, if not longer and decommissions centrifuges, placing them in storage.
On Wednesday night, on the PBS NewsHour, Mr. Kerry said that in any final agreement, Iran would also have to resolve outstanding questions with the International Atomic Energy Agency over suspected military dimensions of the nuclear program.
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Iran has partly answered only one of a dozen such questions, and in his remarks Thursday, Mr. Khamenei seemed to rule out any cooperation. The countrys military officials are not permitted at all to allow the foreigners to cross these boundaries, he said, or stop the countrys defensive development under the pretext of supervision and inspection.
Even with cooperation from the Iranians side, the technical issues are so complex that agency officials say resolving them will be a lengthy process. Mr. Kerry did not say how the resolution of those issues would be linked to sanctions relief.
Moreover, suspending sanctions is a complex process. Mr. Obama can suspend some of the United States sanctions with the stroke of a pen, but actually terminating them would require congressional action almost impossible to imagine in an atmosphere in which Congress is threatening new sanctions.
Other sanctions are based on United Nations Security Council resolutions. Mr. Kerry said in Lausanne last week that under a final deal, if one is reached, a new set of resolutions would be passed, ending many of the sanctions but keeping proliferation controls in place.
Even if sanctions are legally eliminated, major corporate players may initially be reluctant to do business in Iran. Banks have been heavily fined for violations and would want assurances about the new rules. Investors may fear that sanctions could snap back if there is a dispute between Iran and the West, leaving their investments stranded.
The ayatollahs reference to military sites is also problematic. While Mr. Obama and Mr. Kerry have said the inspection requirements they have negotiated would be among the most intrusive in history, they have not said whether they would extend to military sites. Several of the sites the United States is most concerned about in Iran are on military bases, including the deep-underground enrichment center at Fordo, outside the religious city of Qum. There, inspectors have visited regularly, and the atomic energy agency has, periodically, been allowed onto other military bases.
Mr. Rouhani further eased the pressure on negotiators by suggesting there was plenty of time to consider a deal and review the actions of opponents, and said the self-imposed deadline of June 30 was in no way sacred.
They might say that we have only three months left. Well, if three months becomes four months the sky wont come falling down, he said. Just as the other side pushed the negotiations back by seven months, he added, referring to an extension decided in November.
Ayatollah Khamenei did not criticize those details of the framework that had already been agreed to, even though some of them, if put in place, would represent big compromises from all parties, including Iran.
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Graphic: A Simple Guide to the Nuclear Negotiations With Iran
He repeated that while he was not optimistic about negotiating with world powers especially with the United States he did support the talks and Irans diplomatic team.
I have agreed to this particular instance of negotiations and I support the negotiators, Ayatollah Khamenei said, according to his official website, Khamenei.ir.
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I trust our negotiators, but Im really worried as the other side is into lying and breaching promises, an example was the White House fact sheet, he said, referring to the document negotiators released at the end of the Lausanne talks. This came out a few hours after the negotiations and most of it was against the agreement and was wrong. They are always trying to deceive and break promises.
In recent days, almost all major figures in the Iranian establishment have come out in support of the framework agreement, while adding the usual caveat that Irans rights must be guaranteed. Most, including Friday Prayer leaders and military commanders, have said that they support the talks, some have even congratulated Ayatollah Khamenei on the outcome.
Yet, speaking to an audience of religious chanters in his Tehran office, the ayatollah said the government should allow critics of the deal to speak their minds, as it will help unity in the country.
It must be clear, the ayatollah said, that the negotiations were not going beyond the nuclear field. But, he continued, if the other side refrains from its normal bad actions, this will become an experience that we can continue on other issues. If we see that once again they repeat their bad actions, it will only strengthen our experience of not trusting America.
With the ayatollahs unusually strong remarks about the Saudis on Thursday, the sectarian-tinged fighting in Yemen seemed potentially to be developing into yet another wedge between Washington and Tehran.
The United States is providing military and logistical support to the Saudi-led coalition that is bombing Yemen, where Iran has long supported Houthi rebels. Lately, Washington has begun to criticize Iran more emphatically, saying its support for the Houthis is far more substantial than it has disclosed or the world has previously known.
Tensions have also flared over accusations that Saudi airport officials sexually assaulted two teenage Iranian boys. On Thursday, an Iranian plane filled with pilgrims heading to the holy city of Mecca was denied permission to land in the Saudi city of Jidda.
The competition extends to the nuclear arena as well. There, the Saudis have pledged to match the Iranian nuclear program, step for step, if the negotiations should fail. In a veiled reference to Saudi Arabia, Ayatollah Khamenei challenged them to try to start a nuclear program without the help of foreigners.
An underdeveloped country said, If Iran has enrichment, we want it too, he said. Well, do it if you can. Nuclear technology is our domestic capability.
This article was written byThomas Erdbrink for The New York Times on April 9, 2015. Thomas Erdbrink, one of the few Western reporters accredited for U.S. media in the Islamic Republic of Iran, joined The Times in 2012 as Tehran bureau chief. He has carefully tracked Irans controversial nuclear program and the impact of international sanctions. His articles have offered insight into the rise of Irans influential middle classes and the increasing infighting of the ruling elite, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejads struggle for political survival.
