Khamenei delivered a speech today in Tehran on the Lausanne nuclear agreement. The Iranian leader said there was no agreement in Europe, that the US is lying and that NO military inspections will be allowed.
Khamenei tweeted out similar remarks earlier today.
Hours after the #talks, Americans offered a fact sheet that most of it was contrary to what was agreed.They always deceive &breach promises.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) April 9, 2015
Journalist Omni Ceren from The Israel Project sent out this translation and notes this afternoon:
Khamenei ruled out cooperation with the US and downplayed the prospects for a nuclear deal – but those parts won’t be any more problematic than his “Death to America” chants, which the White House has found ways to maneuver around. Instead, the headache for the Obama administration is going to come from what Khamenei said specifically about the Lausanne announcement and about post-Lausanne negotiations.
(1) Politically, the most damage will probably come from Khamenei’s declaration that nothing was agreed to at Lausanne, and that White House claims otherwise are “incorrect and contrary to the substance of the negotiations.” The statement is likely to boost increasingly vocal claims that the administration exaggerated negotiators’ progress in order to forestall Congressional action:
There are those who ask, why has the Leader not made his positions known concerning the latest nuclear negotiations? The reason for the Leader not taking position is that there is nothing to take a position about. The officials of the state and those responsible in the nuclear field say no job is done and there is no necessity… If the question is posed to me: ‘Are you for or against the latest nuclear negotiations,’ I would answer that I’m neither in favor nor opposed to it, since nothing has happened yet… All the trouble arises when the details will be discussed… the White House, only two hours after the end of the negotiations, published a few pages, which in most regards was contrary to the realities, explaining the negotiations… they were producing a statement which was faulty, incorrect and contrary to the substance of the negotiations.
(2) Substantively, Khamenei’s new red lines – if US negotiators ultimately accept them – would detonate the possibility of a verifiable, enforceable deal. The main areas involve sanctions and verification.
On sanctions, Khamenei declared that all sanctions would have to be lifted at the time any deal is signed. The scenario that would trump the phase-out which the White House has declared is necessary to keep the Iranians honest.
Instant annulment of all sanction is one of the demands of our officials… This issue is very important, and the sanctions must all be completely removed on the day of the agreement… Should the removal of the sanctions be related to a process, the foundation of the negotiations would be senseless, since the goal of the negotiations was to remove the sanctions
On verification, he blasted inspections of military sites and ruled out any “unconventional inspection or monitoring” in general.
