Ayatollah Khamenei: The JCPOA Proved the Futility of Negotiating with the U.S.

The leader of the Islamic Republic protested against the failure to lift sanctions against Iran 'all at once', calling the Vienna nuclear agreement 'a futile experience' of negotiating with the U.S. He emphasized that 'regional problems and challenges' between the two countries cannot be solved through negotiations. According to the state news agency IRNA, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated on Tuesday, August 1, that the Vienna nuclear agreement 'once again proved the futility of negotiating with the Americans, their dishonesty, and the necessity of distrust in U.S. promises.' Khamenei noted that Iran's nuclear negotiating team reminded Western parties in last week's talks that 'you are violating commitments, not fulfilling obligations, and are still engaged in obstruction.' Just hours before Khamenei's remarks about the 'futility' of the Vienna nuclear agreement, the Iranian president stated that 'sanctions did not bring us dignity, but the first thing the JCPOA brought us was dignity.' Hassan Rouhani has previously emphasized that the Vienna nuclear agreement 'removed the ominous shadow of war' from Iran and brought 'political and then economic victory' to the country. Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that sanctions against Iran have been lifted on paper, but the U.S. and European countries need to make 'greater efforts' to eliminate the 'existing psychological atmosphere, especially regarding banking interactions.' Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry officials have stated that besides European banks' concerns about sanctions, 'weak financial discipline' among Iranian banks in not cooperating with European banks has 'not been ineffective,' and the Central Bank is working to resolve this issue. U.S. officials have also rejected Iran's claims, stating that they have acted 'beyond their commitments' in the nuclear agreement. In this context, Steven Mnuchin, the senior U.S. State Department coordinator for implementing the nuclear agreement, stated that only six months have passed since the JCPOA was implemented, and it takes time for its effects on people's lives to become apparent. The Supreme Leader continued, 'Is there no tangible effect on people's lives after six months? If it weren't for the Americans' violations, wouldn't the government have been able to accomplish many things during this time?' He referred to statements from the Rouhani administration regarding the lifting of sanctions 'all at once' after Iran fulfilled its commitments in the Vienna nuclear agreement, adding, 'But now, the issue of gradual lifting of sanctions is being discussed, why?' Khamenei's comments come as Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, previously reported that in nuclear negotiations, with the Supreme Leader's consent, 'several items' from the red lines set by him, including the lifting of sanctions all at once, were disregarded. Despite approving the Vienna nuclear agreement, the Supreme Leader has repeatedly criticized it. In contrast, Mostafa Tajzadeh, the political deputy of the Ministry of Interior during Mohammad Khatami's presidency, criticized Khamenei's approach in an open letter from prison, stating that it is expected that the Supreme Leader 'takes the side of the majority of the people.' On Tuesday, the Supreme Leader also referred to the experience of the Vienna nuclear agreement, calling negotiations with the U.S. on regional issues 'deadly poison' and deemed 'Iran and America's regional problems and challenges unsolvable through negotiations.' He labeled the U.S. as 'the creator or exacerbator of regional problems' and mentioned that 'there is a strong accusation regarding the recent events in Turkey that the coup was carried out with American planning and preparation, which, if proven, would be a major scandal for the U.S.' Some Turkish officials accuse the U.S. of supporting the recent failed coup in their country, but U.S. officials have denied this accusation. The Supreme Leader has repeatedly stated that he rejected U.S. officials' requests for cooperation on regional issues. For instance, on the morning of September 15, 2014, when he was discharged from the hospital, he said, 'In the early days when the issue of ISIS arose in Iraq, the Americans requested through their ambassador in Iraq that we cooperate on ISIS; I opposed it because their hands are stained.' However, after the Vienna nuclear agreement, Iran was invited for the first time to participate in a meeting to resolve the Syrian crisis. Meanwhile, John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, stated on June 28 that Iran's presence in Iraq, 'which is clearly focused on the battle against ISIS,' represents a 'mutual interest' between the two countries and has been 'beneficial' in some respects.