Holding Six Conferences of Critics of Nuclear Negotiations in One Year

The conservative faction critical of Iran's nuclear negotiations with the West has not limited itself to sporadic statements during these talks but has also held critical conferences against the content and process of the negotiations. These meetings, which were accompanied by several anti-American programs, include conferences titled 'We Are Concerned', 'False Address', 'Red Line', 'Path and Pitfall', 'Minus Dignity Plus Sanctions', and 'Bitter Experience of Trust'. The 'We Are Concerned' conference, primarily organized by the Steadfast Front, was the first in a series of meetings that were held not only in Tehran but also in other cities such as Isfahan and Shiraz. For example, following the 'We Are Concerned' conference in Tehran in May of this year, a meeting titled 'Brave Concerned Ones' was also held in Isfahan. Most of these conferences were organized by the 'Committee for the Protection of Iran's Interests', which announced its existence after Hassan Rouhani's return from the annual UN meeting in New York. The first press conference of this committee was held in October 2013 after protests from some Basij and Hezbollah forces against Rouhani's phone conversation with Barack Obama and an attack on his car at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran. The committee stated that it was formed after Mohammad Javad Zarif's negotiation with John Kerry, his American counterpart, and Rouhani's phone conversation with Obama, which Ali Khamenei described as an 'inappropriate' action, aimed at 'pursuing the rightful rights of the nation that may be trampled by the diplomats and the negligence of domestic officials or the greed of foreigners'. Khamenei's remarks in November of that year, made during the first round of Geneva negotiations, that he was not optimistic about the negotiations but did not oppose their continuation, although expressed in April 2013, became a pretext for hardline conservatives' opposition to the nuclear negotiations and the holding of several critical conferences against them. The spring conferences featured almost fixed personalities and not particularly new statements. Although the 'Committee for the Protection of Iran's Interests' repeatedly stated that the critical conferences were spontaneously held by this committee and student and popular organizations, the political affiliations of the almost fixed personalities at these conferences indicated that they were not spontaneous. The Basij and Hezbollah forces, hardline members of parliament, and members of the Steadfast Front were among the main participants and speakers at these conferences. Notable figures included Mehdi Kouchakzadeh, Hamid Rasai, Alireza Panahian, Saeed Zibakalam, Saeed Qasemi, Rouhollah Qarehi, Mahmoud Nabavian, Mohammad Hassan Asafari, Ismail Kowsari, Gholamhossein Elham, Javad Karimi Qodosi, Fatemeh Alia, Elias Naderan, Ahmad Alamolhoda, Mehrdad Bazrpash, Morteza Aghazadeh, Rouhollah Hosseinian, Qasem Ravanbakhsh, Soheil Karimi, Vahid Yaminpour, Hassan Abbasi, Mohammad Ali Ramin, and Hamid Rouhani, all with hardline conservative political leanings. On the afternoon of Saturday, May 13, 2014, the first large gathering of critics of the Geneva agreement, titled 'We Are Concerned', was held at the former US embassy in Tehran. Ismail Kowsari, a conservative member of parliament and former commander of the Mohammad Rasoulallah Corps in Tehran, criticized the Geneva agreement at this conference, stating that our national interests have been compromised and the negotiating team must defend the country's interests like 'warriors'. Alireza Panahian, a member of the Ammar Headquarters, was also one of the speakers at 'We Are Concerned', stating that 'the consensus is that the negotiations are worthless and embolden the enemy'. He added that since these negotiations do not lead to 'the welfare' of the people, they are 'certainly doomed to failure'. Sadegh Koushki, a Hezbollah activist, responded to Rouhani's remarks that critics of the Geneva agreement are 'illiterate' by saying, 'Today, we proudly accept the title of illiteracy so that tomorrow we are not dishonorable'. Hassan Abbasi, head of the 'Yaqin' think tank, also described the Geneva agreement as 'hasty' and deemed it a mistake to tie the people's lives to centrifuges. This conference, which received more media attention than other critical conferences regarding the nuclear negotiations, was indirectly criticized by the President, who made a sarcastic remark that 'some people enjoy sanctions'. However, Gholamali Haddad Adel, an advisor to the Supreme Leader, defended the holding of this conference, stating that we are all worried and concerned that foreigners may 'deceive' us, and this concern is a natural thing. On June 10, the second conference of the 'Committee for the Protection of Iran's Interests' titled 'False Address' was held at the Student Club Hall of Tehran University. This committee expressed concern about tying the people's lives to the nuclear negotiations and stated that it is necessary to prevent the repetition of imposing crisis conditions by the merchants of surrender, mismanagement, and misinterpretations on the people and the leadership by examining 'correct and incorrect addresses in the officials' performance'. The committee also awarded statues to members of Rouhani's government, such as Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, Minister of Oil, Valiollah Seif, Head of the Central Bank, Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade, Abbas Akhoundi, Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Ali Jannati, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, and Ali Akbar Salehi, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization. Saeed Zibakalam, one of the speakers at this conference, criticized tying people's livelihoods to sanctions, stating, 'Livelihood should be resolved by eliminating mismanagement, preventing the plundering of the children of the elite and favored ones'. The summer did not go without a conference. Continuing the critical meetings on the nuclear negotiations and the foreign policy of the eleventh government, another conference titled 'Red Line' was held on July 14, 2014, at the Ideology Hall of the Artistic Field. Saeed Qasemi, one of the speakers at this conference, harshly criticized the meeting of Jack Straw, the former British Foreign Secretary, with the families of 'nuclear martyrs', calling it one of the 'most ridiculous things we heard and saw this year'. He stated that all concepts have been 'dragged through the mud', introducing the 'concern line' not as concern for the enemy but as concern for 'confused elites' who 'could not guide the story during the 1999 sedition, the 2009 sedition, or after that'. This former IRGC commander described the term 'win-win game', which Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister, had previously introduced as the arena of foreign policy, as a 'muddy' term that 'is fed to us to deceive our children' and added that in the nuclear negotiations 'one side is definitely winning'. Concurrently with this conference, a similar program was held at Shiraz University by the Basij Student Organization 'Sisters', and they sent a letter to Hassan Rouhani, demanding a clear response from him regarding the ambiguities of the Geneva agreement. On September 21, on the eve of the anniversary of Rouhani and his delegation's trip to New York, which hardline conservatives refer to as the anniversary of 'inappropriate actions', the conference 'Path and Pitfall' was held at the 'Press Hangout'. The aim of this conference was reported to be 'clarifying the conditions of representation worthy of the Iranian nation, the do's and don'ts of the New York trip, and warning against insisting on inappropriate actions'. Saeed Zibakalam, a speaker at this conference, stated that we should expect 'more bowing and justification of America's actions by Iran's diplomatic team', which he believes will lead to 'the minimum capacity of Iran's nuclear program being reduced and ultimately eliminated' in the comprehensive final agreement. Mohammad Hassan Asafari, a member of parliament, also criticized the parliament's lack of information about the content of the negotiations, stating, 'Every time they go and negotiate, the only report they give us is the same news presented on state television. We have said that one person from the parliament should be present in the team, but so far they have not accepted'. Hamid Rasai, another conservative representative, also did not consider the 'mistakes' of Mr. Rouhani comparable to those of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, stating that Ahmadinejad did not 'flatter America' in his letter to Obama and did not say that Obama is smart and polite. His remark was a reference to Rouhani's statement that he found his American counterpart to be a smart and polite individual during their phone conversation. Mohammad Ali Ramin, Deputy Minister of Culture in Ahmadinejad's government, also urged the President in his speech at this conference not to take actions contrary to the 'guidelines of Imam Khamenei', warning that 'otherwise, he will face the backlash of the Islamic community and will lose legitimacy'. 'Minus Dignity, Plus Sanctions' and 'Bitter Experience' were the titles of other conferences held on November 17 at the Ideology Hall of the Artistic Field in Tehran. The purpose of this conference was stated to be the proximity of December 3 and the end of the one-year deadline for a nuclear agreement and the existence of some 'worrisome news regarding the danger of giving up all of Iran's trump cards in exchange for empty and unrealistic promises from the Western side for lifting sanctions'. The slogan of this conference was 'No to the humiliation of the Iranian nation in exchange for decorative lifting of sanctions'. Saeed Zibakalam, one of the speakers at this event, when discussing the Geneva agreement, requested that the lights in the hall be turned off so that 'we could sit and cry our hearts out'. He added, 'I have not read the Treaty of Turkmenchay, but I have read this (Geneva agreement) and it is a disaster, a disaster, and I do not know which is worse, this or Turkmenchay'. Javad Karimi Qodosi, a member of parliament and a staunch opponent of the nuclear negotiations, also accused the Iranian negotiating team of 'not minding crossing red lines'. Ahmad Alamolhoda, the interim Friday prayer leader of Tehran, also stated that during the year of negotiations, 'we have been humiliated by America to such an extent and have fallen into such disgrace that we have never experienced during the revolution, while we have achieved nothing'. On March 4, 2015, the conference 'Bitter Experience of Trust' was also held at the 'Sheikh Ansari' Hall of the Faculty of Law and Political Science at Tehran University. Mahmoud Nabavian, a member of parliament, at this conference, which seems to be the last conference opposing the negotiations this year, stated that the Iranian nuclear negotiating team has given numerous concessions to the West due to its 'weakness'. He added, 'What else is left for our nuclear industry? Natanz, which they committed to remain almost inactive, Fordow, which is supposed to have four-fifths of it shut down, and Arak, which has been compromised, heavy water, the right to produce centrifuges, and UCF in Isfahan, and they have given all of these up. Is there anything left for the nuclear industry other than these?'. Fereydoun Abbasi, the former head of the Atomic Energy Organization, also severely criticized the Iranian negotiating team and Ali Akbar Salehi, the current head of this organization, stating that Salehi, when he was in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made 'political gaffes', and the number of educated members of Rouhani's government in America is more than the statesmen of Barack Obama. Despite the holding of these conferences and ongoing internal criticisms of the nuclear negotiations, discussions between the Islamic Republic and the West continue. Rouhani's government has not only been able to continue negotiations despite these oppositions but has also kept its political opponents in the dark regarding the content of the discussions with global powers.