Iran's Foreign Minister Strongly Criticizes Domestic Critics of Nuclear Agreement

Iran's Foreign Minister described the 'disappearance of an oil rig and the loss of billions of dollars by opportunistic and well-known brokers' as among the impacts of Western sanctions, stating that the factors creating this 'disarray' should not be allowed to undermine the achievements of the Vienna nuclear agreement. According to ISNA, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on Saturday, April 15, stated in a speech that sanctions and the previous government's approaches to counter them led to the 'destruction of financial order and transparency' in Iran's economy, which the current government is still grappling with the consequences of. He added that 'the disappearance of an oil rig or the loss of billions of dollars by opportunistic brokers are small examples of this damage.' Government officials have previously spoken about the corruption arising from circumventing sanctions, and several cases have been filed in the judiciary, with the case of Babak Zanjani and the oil rig known as Fortuna being the most famous. Hajjatollah Mirzaei, Iran's Deputy Minister of Labor, also announced last September that three oil tankers worth $28 million, purchased from a Greek intermediary while circumventing sanctions, were ultimately not delivered to Iran despite payment. In addition to the Babak Zanjani case, according to the budget oversight report for the year 1391, the police force, despite selling a shipment of crude oil worth $185 million and receiving payment, refused to pay its debt to the National Iranian Oil Company. Zarif also stated on Saturday that if the Geneva agreement had not been reached, Iran's oil sales due to sanctions would have reached the brink of zero, and 'a devastating future awaited the people, especially the vulnerable classes.' He emphasized that 'we should not allow those who once caused disorder to now obsess over the achievements that have been made and present them as unsuitable.' Zarif expressed hope that those who, according to him, are 'trying to challenge the dignity of the people with lies' would 'take a look at the realities.' Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, has also repeatedly stated that the Vienna nuclear agreement, known as the JCPOA, has removed the 'shadow of war' from Iran and has brought many economic achievements for the country. However, the Supreme Leader and his close associates have repeatedly emphasized that this agreement has practically had no 'achievements.' Rouhani also stated on Friday, after registering for the 96 presidential election, that 'those who decided to kill this child and infant of the JCPOA cannot be good guardians for it.' He declared that the increase in economic growth from 'negative seven percent' to 'seven percent,' the reduction of inflation from '40 percent' to 'seven percent,' net employment statistics of over '630,000 people' last year, and 'moving away from inflationary recession' are among the successes of his government in the economic field. In response to these statements, Hossein Shariatmadari, the representative of the Supreme Leader in the Kayhan newspaper, wrote in the editorial of the Saturday issue that 'almost none' of Rouhani's statements about the government's successes 'are true, but all existing evidence and documentation indicate reverse results.' He wrote that economic growth, contrary to Rouhani's claim, is 'around 3 percent,' and the criterion for measuring inflation is 'the people's pockets, not the statistics announced by the government.' In recent weeks, close associates of the Supreme Leader, including Friday prayer leaders, have severely criticized the government's performance in the economic sector. On Thursday, March 9, Ayatollah Khamenei, during a meeting with members of the Assembly of Experts, expressed doubt about the accuracy of government statistics regarding the improvement of people's economic conditions, stating that 'these do not affect people's lives and livelihoods in the short and medium term.' In April of this year, less than two months before the presidential election, he criticized the government's economic performance several times and expressed doubt about the accuracy of government statistics. However, hours after Ayatollah Khamenei's Nowruz message, Hassan Rouhani, in a speech defending the government's performance, stated that 'even the next ten governments will not be able to solve all the problems,' but the government has chosen a 'correct' path that is moving towards reducing problems. Officials of Rouhani's government cite cases such as an 11 percent economic growth rate and single-digit inflation as evidence of improving economic conditions for the people compared to the early days of this government. However, some analysts and media outlets report that economic growth has not yet had a significant impact on the living conditions and employment of the Iranian people. In this regard, Fereydoun Khavand, an economic analyst, wrote in an analysis on Radio Farda last December that one of the most important reasons for the worsening labor market despite the increase in growth rates is the oil-dependent nature of the growth, and in fact, the activation of the oil industry and the increase in production and export of this commodity does not inherently create jobs.