Ghasemi's Reaction to CIA Director's Comments on Internal Developments in Iran

Bahram Ghasemi, the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, reacted on Monday, August 2, to comments made by John Brennan, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), regarding the implications of the nuclear agreement. He stated that Brennan is not in a position to comment on internal issues of Iran. According to ISNA, Ghasemi said, "The CIA director is not in a position to make irrelevant and inappropriate comments about internal matters in Iran." He added that such statements by American officials are aimed at psychological operations to create division and polarization within Iranian society, which is rejected and condemned by Iran. The spokesperson further noted that aside from nuclear discussions, no other negotiations between the U.S. and Iran are currently taking place. Ghasemi's remarks referred to Brennan's comments made on Friday at the Aspen Institute, where he responded to a question about the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, stating that the nuclear agreement was a correct step to prevent Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons and seemed to strengthen the position of Hassan Rouhani, who is considered much more moderate than other elements in Iran's system. He currently needs more support from the people. Brennan also mentioned the existing divisions between moderates and hardliners in Iran ahead of the presidential elections, stating that there are currently disagreements within Iran's political landscape. We are closely monitoring the developments and how they interact over these disagreements as the presidential elections approach. In our view, Hassan Rouhani has shown that he wants to integrate Iran into the international community. The CIA director continued by discussing the impact of the JCPOA on economic issues and the daily lives of the Iranian people, saying that many Iranians expected that with this agreement and the release of Iran's funds, conditions would change quickly and affect their situation, but it will take time for the impact to be felt; therefore, Iran must allocate part of these funds to strengthen its currency and infrastructure, which will take some time for people to feel the effects of the agreement in their daily lives. In response to a question about the impact of the nuclear agreement on Iran-U.S. relations, he stated that extensive discussions are currently ongoing between Iran and the U.S. regarding various outstanding issues to determine how the international financial system will interact with Iran after the lifting of its nuclear sanctions. There are ongoing discussions, and the Iranians are dissatisfied with this. However, he emphasized that matters are slowly moving in a positive direction. Following the nuclear agreement or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was implemented last December, all nuclear sanctions against Iran were lifted. However, Iran has criticized the U.S. approach in this regard, stating that it has not been able to benefit from the advantages of this agreement. In this context, Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, stated on Monday, August 2, that the nuclear agreement "once again proved the futility of negotiations with the Americans, their breach of promises, and the necessity of distrust in U.S. promises." According to Khamenei, Iran's nuclear negotiating team reminded the Western parties in last week's negotiations that "you are violating the agreement, not fulfilling your commitments, and continue to create obstacles." Meanwhile, Steven Mnuchin, the senior U.S. State Department coordinator for implementing the nuclear agreement, previously stated that only six months have passed since the implementation of the JCPOA, and it will take time for its effects to appear in people's lives. In this context, Ayatollah Khamenei: The JCPOA proved the futility of negotiations with the U.S. Kamal Kharrazi: The JCPOA has not been well implemented due to American breaches of promises. The U.S. Treasury emphasized the "significant benefit" to Iran from the lifting of sanctions. Steven Mnuchin: It takes time for the effects of the JCPOA to appear in people's lives. Obama: The U.S. has fulfilled all its commitments to lift Iran's nuclear sanctions.