Ahmad Khatami: Do Not Question the Negotiators

Ahmad Khatami, the Friday prayer leader of Tehran, emphasized the "importance and sensitivity of the nuclear issue" and urged critics not to "question" the nuclear negotiators or accuse them of "betrayal." According to Iranian news agencies, this member of the Assembly of Experts described the nuclear negotiators as "children of the nation" and "frontline warriors of the diplomacy front," while also asking government officials not to label any criticism as destruction or to call any gathering destructive. The temporary Friday prayer leader of Tehran stated, "Perhaps lawful gatherings will bolster our nuclear negotiators. Of course, in these gatherings, negotiators should not be weakened, but these gatherings will enhance the negotiators' bargaining power." Some suggest that if sanctions are not lifted, we will face a crisis. However, if an agreement is not reached, Obama will face a crisis because America needs an agreement. Khatami referred to recent gatherings and a conference titled "We Will Not Allow" held in several cities in Iran, where participants criticized the government's approach to nuclear negotiations. In another part of his speech during the Friday prayer in Tehran, Khatami emphasized that "the system seeks a good agreement," adding, "Neither the leadership, nor the God-seeking community, nor the negotiators will accept a bad agreement." This member of the Assembly of Experts stressed that Iran only negotiates in the nuclear field with others and deemed negotiations for re-establishing relations with the U.S. as "illegitimate." The Friday prayer leader of Tehran also reacted to recent statements by Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, who linked Iran's economic problems to nuclear negotiations and the lifting of sanctions. Khatami, without naming Rouhani, stated: "Some suggest that if sanctions are not lifted, we will face a crisis. However, if an agreement is not reached, Obama will face a crisis because America needs an agreement." Ahmad Alamolhoda, another member of the Assembly of Experts, also criticized the President's remarks in similar terms during the Friday prayers in Mashhad, saying: "Today, some ignore all successes and claim that our problems are tied to the lifting of sanctions; thus, according to the Quran, there is a disease in the hearts of these individuals, and they have doubts in God and faith, leading them towards the enemy." Previously, these two members of the Assembly of Experts and several other political officials in Iran, such as Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, the head of the Assembly of Experts, and Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, the head of the judiciary, as well as General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the head of the Basij Organization, had reacted to Rouhani's statements. In this context, the Minister of Intelligence defended the negotiators, stating that negotiations are within the framework approved by the leader. The reactions to Rouhani's recent statements continue, emphasizing that not all problems should be linked to negotiations. Najafi stated that the accusation of "possible military dimensions" is baseless and unfounded. Iran stated that the final nuclear agreement will have a specified timeframe.