Iran's Leader Calls 'Haste and Neglect of Details' the Cause of 'Problems' in Nuclear Agreement

Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, on Sunday during a meeting with some military commanders of Iran, referred to the 'problems' in implementing the nuclear agreement as a result of 'haste in carrying out work' and 'neglect of details', while simultaneously criticizing the 'extension of Iran sanctions law'. According to the report from the Islamic Republic Leader's website, in a meeting with the Navy commanders on Sunday, December 7, marking Navy Day, Ayatollah Khamenei stated, 'When we are in a hurry to finish the work quickly and get to a point, we neglect details, and sometimes neglecting a minor issue creates a breach and a negative point in that work.' He emphasized that 'care must be taken to ensure that work is done steadily, firmly, and at an appropriate pace.' The nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers was reached in late July last year after months of intense negotiations and was ultimately implemented in early winter following Iran's initial commitments in this regard. This agreement includes accepting limitations on Iran's nuclear program, while on the other hand, lifting economic and financial sanctions related to the nuclear issue, which facilitates the participation of the private sector and economic institutions, especially banks, to enhance trade exchanges and investment in Iran. However, despite the implementation of this agreement, many international financial institutions remain hesitant to cooperate with Iran due to some remaining non-nuclear sanctions, despite guarantees from the U.S. and its European allies, and in response to Iran's missile tests, criticisms have arisen and even sanctions have followed. Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives recently extended the Iran sanctions law known as D'Amato for another 10 years, which has led to protests in Iran. Ayatollah Khamenei has now stated that in nuclear negotiations, 'many discussions were held regarding sanctions, but now in the U.S. Congress, they are raising the issue of extending sanctions and claiming that these are not sanctions, but extensions!' He added, 'Starting a sanction' is no different from 'restarting it after its time ends', and 'the latter is also a sanction and a violation of previous commitments by the other side.' The leader of Iran and figures close to him have previously accused the U.S. of failing to fulfill its commitments under the JCPOA, although Iranian government officials say that the problems that have arisen in the implementation of the JCPOA so far do not mean a violation of the JCPOA by the U.S., but they have scenarios prepared for potential violations of the JCPOA. Regarding the nuclear agreement, Donald Trump, the elected President of the U.S., described this agreement during his election campaign as 'the worst agreement' possible and emphasized that if he comes to power, he will renew negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. Recently, the American newspaper Wall Street Journal reported, citing EU officials in Brussels, about new negotiations between Iran, the U.S., and European powers to revise some provisions of the JCPOA, in a way that Iran, by accepting more limitations, would dissuade the incoming U.S. government from potentially canceling the JCPOA. Iran has denied the existence of such negotiations, but European officials familiar with the content of these negotiations told the Wall Street Journal that the agreement on new limitations is described as a 'win-win result for both sides'.