The man the Iranians refer to as their “Supreme Leader” told the world on Thursday, April 9, that whatever terms were discussed at Lausanne by negotiators from the U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China and Germany, with Iran are “non-binding.”
Ayatollah Ali Khameini spoke on television as part of Iran’s National Day of Nuclear Technology.The two points Khameini addressed head-on and emphasized as essential from his perspective are ones on which the West cannot give ground over: first, the immediate lifting of international sanctions imposed because of Iran’s nuclear activity as soon as a deal is reached, and second, the barring of access by any international monitoring personnel to any Iranian military facilities.
Both of those points are flatly contradicted by what the U.S. has confirmed were agreements reached in the Lausanne parameters.
According to the ironclad U.S. position, sanctions on Iran will only be lifted when that country can prove it is in compliance with its nuclear commitments. Sanctions will not be lifted simply on the date an agreement is reached, which Khameini claims is an essential component of any deal.
The Iranian cleric described the U.S. description of agreements reached at Lausanne as “wrong on most of the issues,” and claimed it “distorted reality.”
“All sanctions should be removed just when the deal is reached. If sanctions removal depends on another process, then why did we start to talk?” he asked.
Khameini’s insistence was echoed by Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president: “We will not sign any agreements unless, on the first day of the implementation of the deal, all economic sanctions are totally lifted on the same day,” he said.
The U.S. has said that under the framework understanding recently reached, the Iranians have to address the International Atomic Energy Agency’s concerns about possible military dimensions of its nuclear program.
But Khameini was adamant that international inspectors will not be permitted to inspect and monitor Iran’s military bases.
“”Iran’s military sites cannot be inspected under the excuse of nuclear supervision,” Khameini said.
The Ayatollah has been much more circumspect about the nuclear deal than have, for example, the Americans. The Obama administration has been lobbying Congress very hard about the importance of the deal, while the Iranians have been cautious in their descriptions.
Khameini has commandeered a refrain uttered repeatedly by U.S. President Barack Obama, mostly to quell the concerns of his harshest critics, “no deal is better than a bad deal.”
When the Iranian cleric says “no deal is better than a bad deal,” however, it sounds more like a warning that his team will walk away unless their demands are met.
“It is not even clear whether the talks will bear fruit and lead to an agreement … But I will welcome a deal that preserves the honour of the Iranian people and we always say that no deal is better than a bad deal.”