IRGC Official: Khamenei's Response to Obama's Letter Was Respectful

Yadollah Javani, former political deputy and current advisor to the representative of the 'Supreme Leader' in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), stated that the letters from the U.S. President to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic were answered in a 'respectful, reasonable, and logical' manner; he did not mention the number of these letters. The American newspaper Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, February 24, that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had responded to a letter from Barack Obama, the U.S. President, which was reportedly written in October to the Supreme Leader. According to this report, Mr. Khamenei did not commit to cooperation between Tehran and Washington in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS). Yadollah Javani, in an interview with Al-Alam on Sunday, February 26, referred to the U.S. request for Iran's cooperation in the fight against ISIS, adding: 'The Supreme Leader also mentioned this issue when he was in the hospital at the time of his discharge, and he may have later written it down in a letter.' The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic stated on Tuesday morning, September 24, during his discharge from the hospital: 'In the early days when the ISIS issue arose in Iraq, the Americans requested through their ambassador in Iraq that we cooperate regarding ISIS; I opposed this because their hands are stained.' Mr. Javani further stated: 'What Iranian officials have emphasized is that negotiations with the U.S. are only about the nuclear issue and nothing else. Although the Americans try to raise other issues such as the missile program or cooperation to fight ISIS, the Islamic Republic of Iran has not accepted this.' Ahmad Jannati, Secretary of the Guardian Council of Iran, implicitly confirmed on Sunday, November 25, that Barack Obama's letter to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic was written during Ayatollah Khamenei's hospitalization. He stated: 'Obama in his letter to the dear leader first hypocritically expressed happiness over his recovery and then stated his points.' According to Mr. Jannati, this letter requested Iran to cooperate with the U.S. for the 'destruction of ISIS.'