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News ID: 53364
Publish Date : 25 May 2018 - 21:33
Europeans Not Trustworthy:

Leader Outlines Iran’s Conditions for Staying in JCPOA

TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Following Washington's withdrawal from the nuclear deal, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has laid out Iran’s conditions for upholding its side of the landmark accord with world powers.
Ayatollah Khamenei told Iranian officials in Tehran Thursday that since the beginning of the revolution, the U.S. has harbored deep animosity towards the Islamic Republic, and plotted various political, economic, military and propaganda schemes against the Islamic Republic.
"All these actions aimed at ‘overthrowing’ the Islamic Republic, a word which is repeated constantly, are not something new," he said.
"All their plots have failed. You can compare the Islamic Republic now to 40 years ago, and see that it is moving forward with various capabilities. So, all their plots have failed... just like Tom from the well-known Tom and Jerry cartoon; and they will fail again in the future. We have no doubt in the failure of the enemy; and anyone who is familiar with the Islamic thought knows this. The current U.S. president will have no better fate than that of his predecessors, like Bush, the other Neocons, and Reagan; he will be lost in history.”
Ayatollah Khamenei touched on several experiences which the Islamic Republic has had, saying they are important for the decision-making today and for the next generations.
"The first lesson is that the Islamic Republic government cannot interact with the U.S. This is the first experience, why; because the U.S. does not perform its commitments. Don’t say this is only true for the administration of Trump. No! The previous administration in the U.S., with whom we had meetings and talks, behaved in the same manner, but they rejected the agreement in a different manner. They also threatened (us) and went against their commitments. This is an answer to all those who, repeatedly, over time asked me, ‘why don’t we negotiate with the U.S., or why don’t we develop relations with the U.S.’”
The second experience, the Leader said, is related to the depth of the U.S. animosity with Iran.
"The animosity of the U.S. is not based on an issue like the nuclear issue, but goes beyond such matters. The Islamic Republic is a government that has grown powerful. It, in no way, compromises with the U.S. and has raised the flag of Islam. The U.S. is strongly opposed to such a government. The U.S. seeks to obliterate the factors of power in the Islamic Republic.”
The third experience, the Leader said, is that flexibility with regard to this enemy will not make it less aggressive, but it will make it more aggressive.
"When the Iranian government at the time of George W. Bush showed some flexibility, the U.S. named it the ‘axis of evil’. If you want to do something to reduce the animosity, do it but it is not realized through flexibility and compromise.”
Iran’s another bitter experience related to Europe’s cooperation with the U.S. on important issues, the Leader said.
"We do not want to fight with Europe, but these three countries (France, Britain and Germany) have proved that, on the most sensitive issues, they follow the U.S. The immoral behavior of France as the bad cop in nuclear negotiations and the obstructionism of the UK in producing yellow cake were some examples.”
"The sixth experience is to never rely on the JCPOA and foreign matters for our domestic matters… we should not attach domestic matters to some affairs which are out of our control,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
"We must learn from our mistakes, and from our experience, and must not be satisfied with marginal effects. For example, it is said that the U.S. lost face in this JCPOA business. That is right. But did we negotiate so that they lose face, or did we negotiate to lift the sanctions? Now they are saying that there will be secondary sanctions.
"Or, it is said that the relationship between the U.S. and Europe has deteriorated. But did we sit at the negotiations table for this? Of course, Europe will not stand in the United States' way. Let's be realistic and not count on probabilities. It was said at the beginning of the negotiations that $100 billion would enter the country. This was not true. Now, the insolent president of the United States sometimes even says that $150 billion was given to Iran by them. What nonsense. When did you ever give us anything?” the Leader added.
Ayatollah Khamenei also said Iran’s economic problems cannot be resolved with the Europeans staying in the JCPOA.
"There is much evidence. Some European companies have left. Some of them are leaving, or they say they are not sure if they will remain. The heads of European countries say different things. For our economy, we cannot rely on the JCPOA and the Europeans. These three countries acted against their word some thirteen or fourteen years ago; in the nuclear negotiations, they promised and didn’t keep their promise, now they should prove that they won’t repeat the same untruthfulness and prevarication this time."
Ayatollah Khamenei said if the nuclear is to survive, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany should provide Iran with seven concrete guarantees.
"During the last two years, the U.S. violated the JCPOA several times, and Europe remained silent. Europe must compensate for that silence.
"The U.S. has rejected the Resolution 2231 (establishing the nuclear deal); Europe needs to issue a resolution against the U.S. violation of it.
"Europe must promise not to raise the issues of missiles and regional affairs of the Islamic Republic.
"Europe must encounter any sanction against the Islamic Republic and explicitly stand to U.S.’s sanctions.
"Europe must guarantee that Iran’s oil will be completely sold. If the U.S. can damage the sale of our oil, we must be able to sell as much oil as we want. Europeans must guarantee that they compensate for the loss, and that they buy Iran’s oil.
"European banks must guarantee transactions with the Islamic Republic. We have no conflicts with regard to these three countries; but we do not trust them, based on previous experience.
"If the Europeans linger over our demands, Iran has the right to resume its nuclear activities. When we see that the JCPOA was useless, one way forward is to restart those halted activities."
The Leader also said, "Our enemy has placed the war room in the Treasury Department, instead of the Defense Department. In the same way, we must place the entity for encountering the malignancy of this enemy in the economic center of the government, and the foreign ministry must cooperate.”