Ali Motahari: The IRGC's Missile Tests Prevented the Implementation of the JCPOA

In response to comments from some principlists regarding the proposal for the 'political incompetence of the President', Ali Motahari attributed the current situation in the country to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the 'concerned individuals' who, according to him, prevented the implementation of the JCPOA with missile tests. Following recent turbulence in Iran's gold and currency markets, some principlist representatives, including Hossein Ali Haji Deligani, have spoken about presenting a proposal for 'political incompetence of the President'. However, according to ISNA news agency, Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, stated on Tuesday, August 1, that 'those responsible for the current situation in the country are those who tried to prevent the JCPOA from being implemented by launching missiles, and they indeed achieved their goal.' He emphasized that part of the Islamic Republic system 'was not inclined to implement the JCPOA from the beginning and eventually achieved its goal.' According to Motahari, if the 'entire system' of the Islamic Republic had been 'determined' to implement the JCPOA, many European and American companies would have invested in Iran, and Donald Trump 'could not have easily exited the JCPOA.' Part of the Deputy Speaker's remarks may refer to the opposition of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, to the JCPOA. In the months leading up to the nuclear agreement in 2015, Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized in several speeches that he does not trust the U.S. government and is not optimistic about negotiating with it. He also publicly and implicitly opposed this agreement in various speeches afterward. Previously, on January 15, 2017, Ali Motahari criticized what he described as 'efforts to prevent the JCPOA through missile launches' and 'provoking the enemy to impose economic sanctions.' Two days later, however, the IRGC spokesperson called these remarks 'offensive,' 'ill-considered,' and 'echoing the voices of enemies.' After Motahari, Hassan Rouhani also accused the IRGC in the second presidential debate of attempting to disrupt the Vienna nuclear agreement by showcasing missile depots and writing slogans on missiles. The Iranian President referred to the display of the IRGC's missile silos on Iranian television in 2015 and the writing of the slogan 'Israel must be wiped off the map' in Hebrew on one of the tested missiles. Masoud Jazayeri, the spokesperson for the Iranian Armed Forces, reacted to these statements by urging election candidates to 'avoid entering controversial military issues' and, as he put it, 'giving incorrect addresses to the people.' After the presidential election, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, announced the establishment of the third underground missile production factory of the IRGC and promised that Iran would increase its 'missile power.' During the nuclear negotiations and after the implementation of the JCPOA, the IRGC repeatedly conducted missile tests and even wrote on one of its missiles in Hebrew that 'Israel must be destroyed.' UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which was issued after the Vienna nuclear agreement to endorse it, called on Iran to refrain from developing ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. However, Iranian officials claim that Iran's missiles are not designed to carry nuclear warheads. Stopping Iran's missile program is one of the 12 conditions set by the U.S. for reaching a new nuclear agreement with Iran, conditions that the Islamic Republic has previously rejected, and the new U.S. position on them is unclear following Donald Trump's proposal for an unconditional meeting with Hassan Rouhani.