Kerry on Elections in Iran: Our Intervention is the Worst Thing

John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, in an interview, compared the Iranian government of Hassan Rouhani's confrontation with hardliners over the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to the opposition faced in Congress. In response to a question about U.S. support for Hassan Rouhani's supporters in the elections in Iran, he stated that the worst thing we can do is 'intervene.' An article in the American newspaper Washington Post on Wednesday, February 9, quoted Kerry regarding the nuclear agreement with Iran, saying to David Ignatius: 'Hardliners made life (working conditions) very difficult for Foreign Minister (Mohammad Javad) Zarif and President (Hassan) Rouhani, just as opponents, I won't say hardliners, did for our negotiators in America.' Kerry's reference is to the opposition in both Iran and the U.S. regarding the nuclear agreement between Iran and six global powers. According to the nuclear agreement signed in Vienna on July 14 to resolve the Islamic Republic's nuclear dispute, Iran's nuclear program has been limited, and in return, most international nuclear sanctions against Tehran will be lifted. Since the signing of the JCPOA, opponents of the nuclear agreement with Iran, especially Republican representatives in the U.S. Congress, have sought to review and annul this agreement. Last month, after the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the implementation of commitments under the JCPOA, the agreement was put into effect by the U.S., the European Union, and other countries, and Iran's nuclear sanctions were lifted. In another part of this article, the U.S. Secretary of State warned about supporting Hassan Rouhani's supporters in the upcoming elections in Iran, stating: 'The worst thing we can do is to intervene.' The 10th round of the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections and the 5th Assembly of Experts elections will be held on March 7 of this year. The disqualification of reformists and nearly 49% of the candidates for the parliamentary elections has prompted a reaction from Hassan Rouhani. The Iranian president had previously warned about making the elections non-competitive.