Implicit Criticism of Rouhani's Foreign Policy by Commander of the Army's Ground Forces

The commander of Iran's Ground Forces stated that the 'hostility' between Iran and the United States cannot be resolved simply by 'sitting down with four foreign ministers' and that the issues between the two countries are 'rooted.' According to Mehr News Agency, Ahmadreza Pourdastan, on Thursday, August 5, during the ceremony for the introduction and farewell of the commander of the Army's Northwest Headquarters, addressed officials of Hassan Rouhani's government without naming them, saying: 'Beware of this enemy and set aside any optimism towards them.' In another part of his speech, he mentioned that 'American officials made more promises regarding the JCPOA than domestic officials, claiming that the situation would improve.' He stated that the goal of the U.S. with these promises is to 'give hope' to the people and lead them to the streets, as they are 'upset about the lost opportunities from the 2009 unrest.' Pourdastan also added that 'the enemy's intention with economic sanctions is to create a rift between the people and the government; the enemy wanted to bring people to the streets.' He accused the U.S. of attempting to 'overthrow' the Islamic Republic, asserting that these efforts have not yet 'gone anywhere.' The negotiations between Mohammad Javad Zarif and John Kerry, the foreign ministers of Iran and the U.S., along with the five countries of Britain, France, China, Russia, and Germany, which led to the signing of the JCPOA last July, have always faced criticism from conservatives in Iran. Over the past two years, they have repeatedly criticized the meetings and encounters of the foreign minister of the eleventh government with their American and European counterparts, declaring the government's foreign policy to be in conflict with the views of Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. Conservative political activists, Friday prayer leaders, clerics residing in Qom, and a group of Revolutionary Guards commanders are among the critics of Iran's negotiations with the U.S. and the nuclear agreement, whose criticism of this agreement has intensified in recent days. Army commanders, who had previously remained silent regarding the foreign policy of the eleventh government and the nuclear negotiations and the JCPOA, have recently directed sharp criticisms at this agreement and the performance of the U.S. in this regard. Ahmadreza Pourdastan is one of the army commanders who has made two critical statements against the JCPOA, U.S. positions in this regard, and the foreign policy of Hassan Rouhani's government in the past four days. On August 2, he referred to the JCPOA as a means to achieve U.S. and 'enemy' goals in Iran to bring people to the streets. He reiterated, without naming Hassan Rouhani's government, that 'we must be cautious of an enemy that comes in the guise of friendship and peace and should never be optimistic about it.' The commander of the Ground Forces also stated that 'in the matter of the JCPOA, some domestic officials and some foreigners tried to give hope to the people.' Nearly a year after the signing of the JCPOA, Islamic Republic officials claim that the U.S. and the West have not fully adhered to their commitments regarding the implementation of its provisions and are delaying it every day. Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, also described the Vienna nuclear agreement this week as 'a fruitless experience' of negotiating with the U.S., stating that 'the regional problems and challenges' between the two countries cannot be resolved through negotiation. Khamenei added that 'the JCPOA once again proved the futility of negotiating with the Americans, their breach of promises, and the necessity of distrust in American promises.' Khamenei's remarks come at a time when Abbas Araghchi, the deputy foreign minister, had previously reported that in the nuclear negotiations, with the approval of the Iranian leader, 'several of the predetermined red lines were disregarded.'