Iraqi: No Agreement Without Adherence to Certain Red Lines

The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister and Head of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Implementation Follow-up Committee, Abbas Araghchi, stated that insisting on certain red lines meant 'no agreement' would be possible. Therefore, with the approval of Iran's leader, 'in several cases,' the red lines set by him during negotiations were shifted. In a press conference on Sunday, July 18, Araghchi mentioned that some red lines 'were not achievable in the negotiation scene and the practical scene.' He added that 'in two or three cases,' the Foreign Minister reported to the Supreme Leader, and 'the red lines were shifted.' According to Araghchi, one of the red lines was the lifting of all sanctions against Iran, but U.S. officials stated that the government could not lift congressional sanctions, and if the Iranian negotiating team insisted, 'it would mean no agreement.' He further noted that the directive was that it was acceptable for EU sanctions, executive orders from the President, and UN Security Council resolutions to be lifted, but congressional sanctions should be suspended, and the U.S. President should commit to continuing this suspension. Araghchi did not mention other red lines that were 'shifted' during the nuclear negotiations. This member of the Iranian nuclear negotiating team emphasized that the team did not 'ignore' any red line 'on its own.' Ali Akbar Velayati, an international affairs advisor to the Supreme Leader and a member of the JCPOA oversight committee, stated on Sunday without going into details that 'some conditions' of the Supreme Leader were 'not observed in the JCPOA.' He also mentioned on Tuesday, July 21, that 'some of the nine conditions' of the Supreme Leader 'were not implemented in the execution of the JCPOA.' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had previously declared the removal of 'all sanctions at once' and 'prohibition of visits to Iran's military sites' as part of the 'nuclear red lines' and emphasized that he would not accept 'long-term restrictions of 10 or 12 years' on Iran's nuclear program. On October 21, 2015, while confirming the Vienna nuclear agreement, he set conditions for its implementation, threatening that 'any imposition of sanctions at any level and for any reason' during the eight-year period would be considered a violation of the Vienna nuclear agreement. In his speech on the first day of Farvardin, he also mentioned that Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, told him that 'we could not maintain some red lines.' Araghchi also stated that if the U.S. government does not grant Boeing and Airbus permission to sell aircraft to Iran, it would be a 'violation' of the Vienna nuclear agreement. He also noted that some congressional resolutions are not considered violations of the Vienna nuclear agreement but undermine its successful implementation. The U.S. House Financial Services Committee voted on three bills that could prevent the sale of Boeing and other modern aircraft to Iran. At the same time, the House has also approved measures to impose financial sanctions on Iran. The pursuit and approval of these bills come as the U.S. President has stated that he will veto any measures that obstruct the implementation of the 'JCPOA.' Iranian Foreign Ministry officials have previously protested against congressional resolutions and actions by the U.S. Treasury against the Islamic Republic while stating that the Vienna nuclear agreement has not been violated by the U.S. However, some political groups in Iran have repeatedly spoken of violations of this agreement by the U.S. In this regard, according to reports published by some news agencies, including ISNA, Mohsen Rezai, Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran, called for the formation of 'five or six serious cases' regarding the undermining of the 'spirit of the JCPOA' by the U.S. for review in the joint commission between the parties. According to this report, Rezai also referred to the JCPOA approved by the parliament, the JCPOA approved by the Supreme National Security Council, and the JCPOA approved by the Supreme Leader, adding that 'those who criticize the JCPOA should be aware that they are criticizing the leadership's JCPOA, not the parliament's and the Supreme National Security Council's JCPOA.' He emphasized that 'even Hezbollah forces who want to be very revolutionary should not enter the leadership's territory.' However, Rezai's office announced on Sunday that his remarks had been 'distorted' and he stated that the U.S. 'has violated it twice since the approval of the JCPOA.' According to Rezai's office explanation, he said that the JCPOA approved by the Supreme Leader, which 'was accepted conditionally, is our criterion for judgment.' The accusation of U.S. obstruction in the implementation of the JCPOA is made by the Islamic Republic while U.S. officials deny this claim, stating that they have acted 'beyond their commitments' in the nuclear agreement. The Iranian Foreign Ministry reported on Saturday that the impact of U.S. human rights and missile sanctions on the lifted nuclear program sanctions is an 'undeniable reality' and acknowledged that currency exchanges 'still face limitations.'