Long way ahead over Iran-P5+1 agreement: Iranian cleric

A senior Iranian cleric says the Iranian officials who negotiated with the P5+1 countries and secured an agreement with the group face an even more difficult road ahead of them as the six countries may resort to deceit in the implementation of the agreement.

In a sermon to worshipers at the weekly Friday Prayers, Tehran interim Friday Prayers leader Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani addressed the Iranian negotiators and said, “Firstly, I tell them, ‘You accomplished a difficult task; but be aware that you have a more difficult task ahead.”

Iran and the P5+1 group of countries – the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany – reached an agreement on Tuesday in the Austrian capital city of Vienna.

The agreement, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), will put limits on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the removal of sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

In his Friday remarks, Ayatollah Movahedi Kermani said certain problems may emerge in the wake of the conclusion of the talks.

He said some of the six governments of the P5+1 are unreliable and may resort to deception in the course of the implementation of the agreement.

The Iranian cleric also warned that some of Iran’s interlocutors in the talks may seek “unreal pretexts” such as through claiming that the Islamic Republic has failed to abide by its commitments or resorting to distortion and making false interpretation of the text on which Tehran and the P5+1 have reached a conclusion.

“Words that can lend themselves to distortion should be avoided in the statement and annexes; words must be unambiguous,” he emphasized.

“No harm whatsoever should be done to Islamic dignity and Iranian pride,” he said.

He said the achievement made in the negotiations is owed to the Iranian people, who resisted in the face of economic hardships and forced enemies to adopt a language of respect toward Iran.

The senior Iranian cleric also lauded Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s instructions, which he said led the Iranian negotiating team on the right path.

Ayatollah Movahedi Kermani also thanked Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and the nuclear negotiating team for their perseverance in the 23 months that led to the conclusion of the talks with the P5+1 group of countries.

“Saudi Arabia and the Zionist regime (Israel) are angry at this deal, and this is the best proof for the worthiness of the agreement,” the Iranian interim Friday prayers leader said.
He said, however, that the fate of the agreement is not yet sealed, as it has to go through the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the Iranian Parliament (Majlis), Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and the US Congress.

Following the announcement of the landmark agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has for months been engaged in attempts to block efforts for the conclusion of the nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1, described the achievement as “a bad mistake of historic proportions.”