Extensive Attacks by Hardliners on the JCPOA

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, traveled to New York on Monday to participate in the signing ceremony of the climate change agreement. Mr. Zarif is expected to meet with his American counterpart John Kerry to discuss the progress of the JCPOA implementation and the obstacles that have arisen regarding Iran's banking transactions with various countries, including European nations. The third joint commission of Iran and the 5+1 group to review the progress of the JCPOA at the level of deputy foreign ministers is also scheduled to be held on Friday, April 21, in Vienna. The meeting between Zarif and Kerry takes place amid extensive attacks by hardliners in Iran on the JCPOA and President Hassan Rouhani's government in recent days. The Fars news agency reported on Monday, citing Mr. Seif, that the benefits of the JCPOA for Iran are 'almost nothing.' Valiollah Seif, the head of the Central Bank, stated on Friday, April 15, during a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in the U.S., that Iran 'is still not connected to the global economy' and warned that 'if recent U.S. actions against Iran lead to a confrontation between Iran and international banks, the nuclear agreement will fail.' On Monday, Hamid Rasai, a hardline member of parliament, claimed that the JCPOA derives its legitimacy solely from the signature of Mr. Khamenei and dismissed the Foreign Ministry's report on the JCPOA as vague. Fars news agency also concluded on Monday, based on the statements of Mr. Seif and Mr. Zarif, that these remarks—deemed confessions by government officials—are part of a calculated project intended to portray the lack of implementation of the JCPOA and the failure to realize its benefits for Iran as obstacles created by the Americans. Mr. Zarif stated on Friday at a joint press conference with Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, that the JCPOA does not include American banks. Mogherini emphasized during her visit to Tehran on Friday that the EU is also aware of the difficulties in connecting Iran to the global banking system but is not in a position to force banks to establish relations with Iran's banking system. Mehrdad Emadi, an economic expert in London, told Radio Farda that the challenges of re-establishing Iran's monetary and banking relations with the international financial system partly relate to individual foreign banks. Kamran Dadkhah, a university professor and economic expert in Boston, stated in an interview with Radio Farda that part of the opposition to the JCPOA in Iran stems from critics' fear of losing financial advantages. In an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel published on Sunday, Mohammad Javad Zarif stated, 'We have not engaged in over 30 months of intense negotiations to now face an empty document.'