Senior Cleric Stresses Single-Phased Agreement with World Powers

Tehran’s Provisional Friday Prayers leader Hojjatoleslam Kazzem Seddiqi warned against the repercussions of striking a two-phased agreement with the western powers, and called for the removal of all western sanctions imposed against Iran.
Addressing a large and fervent congregation of people on Tehran University campus on Friday, Hojjatoleslam Seddiqi said, “Iran and the world powers should strike the final deal in a single phase and all sanctions should also be removed at once.”

On Wednesday, Iran’s Judiciary Chief Sadeq Amoli Larijani warned of the US plots and conspiracies during the nuclear talks with Tehran, and called on the Iranian negotiating team to keep their eyes wide open not to be trapped in such US plots.

Addressing high-ranking judiciary officials in a weekly meeting in Tehran, Amoli Larijani warned the Iranian team of negotiators against Washington schemes, and said the US President’s recent acknowledgement of his country’s cyber attacks against Iran is an instance of the enmity of the other side of negotiations towards Iran.

Amoli Larijani, meantime, underlined that Iran enjoys a good level of power to stand against enemy attacks and the country is fully capable of defending itself.

“The important point is that our people have suffered a lot to reach the present level and the honorable team of negotiators should never cross the redlines drawn by Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution (Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei),” he said.

Earlier this month, Ayatollah Khamenei underlined that Iran would never accept a bad agreement with the world powers, but the country was in favor of a single-phase comprehensive deal which would respect the Iranian nation’s inalienable rights and entail all details.

“I agree with an agreement if it can be struck, but I disagree with a bad agreement,” the Supreme Leader said in a meeting with the commanders and personnel of the Iranian Air Force and Air Defense in Tehran.

He pointed to the US officials’ remarks that “disagreement is better than a bad agreement”, and said, “We believe the same and we believe that not agreement is better than striking an agreement that would harm the national interests and pave the way for humiliating the great Iranian nation.”

Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the efforts underway by the Iranians to remove the sanctions in their talks with the six world powers, and said, “If this happens and the enemy gives up the weapon of sanctions it will be very good, but if this doesn’t happen there are (still) many ways to slow down the impact of the US-led embargoes.”

The Supreme Leader reiterated that even if the sanctions were kept in place, their impact could be alleviated through paying appropriate attention to available means and industrious efforts.

The Leader further stressed his opposition to striking a deal over general issues and leaving the details for some other time in future, saying that a final agreement should include all the general principles and all the details together and should not leave anything for future.

Also this month, Ayatollah Khamenei warned of the arrogant powers’ plots to impede Iran’s progress in different scientific and technological fields, and said even if Tehran accepted all the demands of the world powers in the nuclear standoff, they would never remove their embargos against the country.

“Their main goal of such measures (sanctions) is humiliation of the Iranian nation and stopping the nation and Islamic Republic’s great move towards a new Islamic civilization and I believe that even if we accept the demands that they (want to) dictate on us in the nuclear issue, the sanctions will not be removed since they are opposed to the (Islamic) Revolution in essence,” Ayatollah said in Tehran, addressing a large number of visiting Iranians from East Azerbaijan province.