Harsh Criticism from Makarem Shirazi and Several Friday Prayer Leaders Against the Request for Negotiation with the U.S.

A Shia cleric criticized a statement from 100 political and civil activists calling for direct negotiations with the U.S., with several Friday prayer leaders labeling the letter as "treason," "collaboration with the U.S.," and "selling out the homeland." According to Tasnim News Agency, Naser Makarem Shirazi, a Shia cleric, reacted on Friday, July 1, to the letter from the activists, questioning how negotiations with the U.S. could be possible under its new conditions. He added, "Do you want to halt your missile activities? Or allow unconditional inspections of all your military sites? Or do you want to recognize Israel?" Meanwhile, Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani, the Friday prayer leader of Tehran, stated that negotiations with the U.S. "will not solve any problems." He emphasized that the U.S. "is only pursuing its own interests" and that "we must hate and be disgusted by the U.S. with all our being," expressing hope that this bully would be destroyed by the hands of our time's Ali. Other Friday prayer leaders, including those from Gorgan and Birjand, also strongly criticized the statement. Mohammad Taghi Lotfi, the Friday prayer leader of Ilam, referred to the statement as "an example of selling out the homeland and collaboration" with the U.S. Mohammad Mokhtari, the Friday prayer leader of Birjand, deemed the letter "a betrayal of the revolution." Recently, over 100 political and civil activists inside and outside Iran issued a statement referencing the "global" reception of the U.S. President's meeting with the North Korean leader and the "dangerous situation in the region," calling for "direct and unconditional negotiations" between Iran and the U.S. Among the signatories are Gholamhossein Karbaschi, Ahmad Montazeri, Abdolali Bazargan, Jalal Jalalizadeh, Jamileh Kadivar, Sedigheh Vosoughi, Hassan Farshchian, Reza Alijani, Hossein Karroubi, Eisa Saharkhiz, Hassan Amini, Mohammad Sadegh Javadi Hesari, Ali Kashtgar, Vida Farhoudi, Hamid Asafi, and Behrouz Khaligh. This statement has led to severe criticism from close allies of the Supreme Leader, including Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, who stated that a "significant number" of the signatories are "agents creating a narrative for negotiations with Trump." Besides the Supreme Leader's allies, the government of Hassan Rouhani and several members of the Hope faction in Parliament, including Mohammad Reza Tabesh, have also opposed this statement. Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, stated on Tuesday, June 19, that "public opinion does not welcome negotiations with Trump either." He emphasized, "In this situation where the U.S. is being aggressive, who should we negotiate with? What stability exists in the U.S.? There is no basis for negotiations with such a person." However, Reza Alijani, one of the signatories of this statement, stated in an interview with the Zeytoon website that despite the positions of the Islamic Republic officials, "Iranian diplomats are inclined to negotiate with the Western side, but this possibility is rejected by the American side, which seeks to delay negotiations and intensify the effects of sanctions to weaken Iran's position." After withdrawing from the JCPOA, the U.S. set 12 conditions for reaching a new agreement with Iran on June 1. In response, Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister, also addressed Mike Pompeo's twelve conditions in an article, presenting a list of Tehran's demands from Washington. Previously, proposals for direct negotiations between Iran and the U.S. had been made, but the Supreme Leader opposed them. The foreign ministers of Iran and the U.S. negotiated directly for the first time since the severance of relations between the two countries during Hassan Rouhani's administration. However, the Supreme Leader announced that the subject of these negotiations was only the nuclear agreement and that Iran would not negotiate with the U.S. on other issues. In 2007, during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, Hossein Kazemi Qomi and Ryan Crocker, the ambassadors of Iran and the U.S. in Iraq, also negotiated directly with each other. In the final years of Ahmadinejad's administration, deputy foreign ministers of both countries held secret negotiations in Oman. Prior to that, secret negotiations between officials of the two countries had taken place, the most famous of which was Robert McFarlane's trip, the U.S. National Security Advisor during Ronald Reagan's administration, to Iran, which later became known as "Iran-gate."