As factional feud among Iranian regime officials escalates once again, the head of the influential Assembly of Experts, mullah Ahmad Jannati, called upon president Hassan Rouhani to apologize to the people of Iran for not respecting conditions laid out by the regime’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for negotiating the nuclear deal. The Assembly of Experts is the deliberative body empowered to designate and dismiss the Islamic Republic\u2019s Supreme Leader and supervise his performance.<\/p>\n
Jannati accused Rouhani of disregarding red lines set by Ali Khamenei for the government\u2019s nuclear talks with the U.S. and world powers, and said that Rouhani must \u201cpresent his apologies to the Iranian nation for the damage it has caused.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, President Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal also known as the JCPOA.<\/p>\n
Khamenei has time and again made several official statements, \u0650in his speech, changing his position on the Iran nuclear deal while trying every now and then to canvas the accord as \u201cmaking of various officials\u201d in order to distance himself from any negative consequences. However, it is well known that all the while, Iranian nuclear negotiators enjoyed his blessing to become completely involved in talks with the \u201cGreat Satan (the United States according to the mullahs)\u201d.<\/p>\n
Of course, those loyal to Rouhani did not remain silent and reminded Khamenei and his faction that the supreme leader blessed the nuclear talks from day one and continuously kept a close eye on the developments.<\/p>\n
According to Rouhani, all JCPOA-related negotiations were held under the direct supervision of the Supreme Leader. As well, the negotiations began during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad\u2019s presidency.<\/p>\n
Although Khamenei agreed to the deal early on in October 2015, he listed conditions for Iran\u2019s participation in the agreement. Those conditions were immediately dismissed by negotiators on both sides, because they were presented after the deal had already been signed.<\/p>\n
In fact, Khamenei has described the nuclear deal as a \u201cheroic victory\u201d for himself, but has also criticized it as \u201ctotally skewed\u201d in favor of the West.<\/p>\n
Jannati\u2019s statement came as Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif\u2019s arrived in Brussels on May 14th. Zarif is trying to salvage the deal with European partners despite the U.S. withdrawal. He has been assigned to seek assurances from the remaining JCPOA parties that they will keep the deal if Iran remains loyal in its commitment to curb its nuclear program.<\/p>\n
Jannati dismissed Zarif\u2019s latest efforts, calling them as pointless. He said that European powers are in league with the U.S. against Iran.<\/p>\n
Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, Chief Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), has also criticized the Rouhani administration. Pointing out \u201ccertain officials\u201d who \u201cturn to foreigners,\u201d Jafari said: \u201cI hope recent events will lead us to ending our trust in the West and the Europeans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fars news agency\u00a0affiliated to IRGC cited Jafari as saying, \u201cThe Europeans have repeatedly proved that they are not capable of resisting U.S. sanctions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rouhani\u2019s administration responded to Jannati, accusing \u201canti-government assailants\u201d of \u201cjoining voices with the enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deputy Speaker of parliament and MP from Tehran Ali Motahari defended his government against Jannati\u2019s attacks and said that one of Iran\u2019s most \u201ccomplicated problems\u201d is the interference of different institutions in each other\u2019s affairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Assembly of Experts has no legal right to interfere in cases such as the JCPOA or to set agendas for the president or parliament,\u201d Motahari added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"