Continued Criticism of Ahmad Jannati's Statement Against Rouhani and the JCPOA

Following reactions to Ahmad Jannati's statement, the Chairman of the Assembly of Experts, regarding the necessity for Hassan Rouhani to apologize for the JCPOA, a senior member of the Qom Seminary's Society of Teachers also criticized the content of this statement, and Mustafa Tajzadeh, a political activist, called for Jannati's retirement. On May 12, after the announcement of the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, a statement was published quoting the Assembly of Experts, which stated that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic had accepted the JCPOA 'solely' due to the government's insistence, and Hassan Rouhani should apologize for 'not adhering to the red lines set' by Ayatollah Khamenei. Following increased criticism of this statement and the ignorance of at least two members of this assembly regarding the publication of such a statement, the Secretariat of the Assembly of Experts changed its title to 'Statement of the Chairman of the Assembly of Experts.' This statement provoked reactions from several political figures, including Abdollah Ramazanzadeh and Mustafa Tajzadeh, two members of the Participation Front, and several members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly such as Mostafa Kaveh Kabi and Abdolkarim Hosseinzadeh. Mustafa Tajzadeh questioned, 'Why doesn't the 90-year-old Jannati retire so that his impulsive actions do not further damage the credibility of the Islamic Republic and national interests?' He criticized the Chairman of the Assembly of Experts' statement regarding the performance of Iran's nuclear team. Tajzadeh added that Jannati, as a citizen, could 'instead of questioning the leader about why he did not prevent the nuclear file from being sent to the Security Council, the issuance of successive resolutions, and the sanctions on Iran's oil and its central bank, demand an apology from the president who opposed this process. However, as the Chairman of the Assembly of Experts, he does not have the right to make such a request.' A senior member of the Qom Seminary's Society of Teachers also described Jannati's recent statement against Rouhani's nuclear performance as 'very baseless and bad,' adding that such statements 'are exploited by the enemies of Islam and the revolution.' Ayatollah Ali Akbar Masoudi Khomeini, one of the founders of the Society of Teachers of Qom, told ILNA news agency that the nuclear negotiations and the JCPOA were conducted with the 'approval' of the Supreme Leader. He stated that if Ayatollah Khamenei had opposed the entry and exit in the JCPOA and the nuclear negotiations from the beginning, he would have said one word that Mr. Rouhani should not negotiate anymore and should attend to his other duties; in that case, could Mr. Rouhani have said no? This professor of jurisprudence emphasized that Ayatollah Khamenei was 'in favor' of the nuclear negotiations, 'but on the other hand, he is not in favor of yielding to pressure... Mr. Rouhani certainly does not agree with this either.' He warned Jannati to 'be careful with your words; think about what you are saying and what you are saying, otherwise, if you are not careful, the abuses that arise from such statements will be quite clear.' Mr. Masoudi Khomeini also warned the government's opponents that 'if they want to give wings to the issue of the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA and use this as an excuse to attack the government, they should know that this will be very detrimental to Islam, the Quran, and also to Iran and the Islamic Revolution.' Before him, Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, had also accused Ahmad Jannati of 'contradicting' himself in this statement. In a letter to Ahmad Jannati, Motahari wrote that 'in this letter, on one hand, you have accepted that the JCPOA was signed with the approval of the Supreme Leader, and on the other hand, you have asked the president to apologize to the people for the damages caused by the JCPOA.' He referred to a part of the Assembly's statement that described withdrawal from the JCPOA in the absence of 'serious and firm guarantees' from Europeans as a 'religious and legal obligation' of the diplomatic apparatus, reminding Jannati, 'Do you determine the religious obligation of the diplomatic apparatus or the Supreme Leader? Also, do you determine the legal obligation of the diplomatic apparatus or the Assembly?' Motahari further described 'one of the problems' in Iran as 'the interference of various institutions in each other's work' and reminded Jannati of the Assembly's legal duties, adding that 'intervening in issues like the JCPOA and determining obligations for the president and the Islamic Consultative Assembly is not the duty of that Assembly.' The Secretariat of Hassan Rouhani's government also responded to some positions against the government regarding the JCPOA by issuing a statement, declaring: 'Those who should apologize for their incorrect positions in the past are now demanding accountability for national achievements.' The government accused these unnamed individuals of 'never being willing to talk about their inability to provide alternatives to the JCPOA and honestly apologize to the nation for their wrong approach and sabotage in the country's progress.' The statement noted that these individuals had fallen into 'contradiction' and 'in a clear contradiction, they have been both worried about the presence of the U.S. in the JCPOA and complaining about the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA.' Following the Supreme Leader's remarks about the necessity of obtaining 'practical guarantees' from European countries regarding Iran's interests in the event of continued adherence to the JCPOA, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, has begun his travels to consult with other countries involved in the JCPOA. President Hassan Rouhani also stated again yesterday that if the remaining five countries in the JCPOA 'guarantee that Iran's interests will be realized with the continuation of the JCPOA,' this agreement will remain in place despite the U.S. withdrawal. Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, also stated that 'the Europeans have 60 days to provide the necessary guarantees regarding the protection of Iran's interests and compensating for the damages caused by the U.S. withdrawal.'