Khamenei: America has not fulfilled its commitments

Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, on Sunday, March 21, during a speech in Mashhad, stated that the leaders of America "sent Nowruz messages and set up a Haft-Seen table in the White House," saying that "these are childish tricks." He said: "The enemy; meaning the American government, which, of course, says we are not enemies; sent a Nowruz message to us and expressed concern for the youth. Or they set up a Haft-Seen table in the White House, which is childish trickery." He added: "On the other hand, they maintain the sanctions, and the U.S. Treasury Department acts in such a way that large companies and banks dare not deal with the Islamic Republic, which is pure enmity. They threaten and sanction, which is pure enmity. But on the other hand, they say they are looking for jobs for Iranian youth. No one believes this." Barack Obama, the President of the United States, on Saturday, sent a Nowruz message congratulating the beginning of the Iranian New Year 1395 to all Iranians and wished health and prosperity for all of them. According to the President of the United States, even after "decades of distrust" among old enemies on the global stage, it may still be possible to open a new path between them and begin a new relationship. John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, also emphasized in his Nowruz 1395 message that the "hand of friendship" from the United States will remain extended to the "people of Iran." Khamenei accused America of "betrayal" regarding the JCPOA and said that America has not fulfilled its commitments under the JCPOA. He stated: "In this nuclear agreement, the Americans did not fulfill what they promised and did not do what they were supposed to do." He added that the Americans "committed on paper" but "through various means prevented the goals of the Islamic Republic." The leader of the Islamic Republic said: "Bank transactions are still problematic. The return of our wealth in their banks is problematic, and when we ask, we see that banks are afraid of the Americans." Khamenei continued that they have "removed sanctions on paper, but they act in such a way that the effect of lifting the sanctions does not occur at all." He added that "those who hope to sit with America and negotiate on other issues are neglecting this matter." He emphasized that America "evades and does not fulfill the commitments it has made. We see this today before our eyes." The leader of the Islamic Republic added that "America is obviously our enemy. We mean the politicians of America and their policies. They betrayed in the JCPOA. They threatened us with other sanctions. The U.S. Treasury Secretary is working day and night to ensure that the Islamic Republic cannot benefit from the results of the JCPOA. They constantly threaten." He added: "Now the U.S. presidential election will start in a few months, and in nine months this government will change. There is no guarantee that the next government will implement even these minimal commitments. The U.S. election candidates are currently competing in slandering Iran." These remarks by Khamenei come at a time when Islamic Republic officials have previously reported the removal of obstacles to some of Iran's blocked funds abroad and the transfer of these funds. Khamenei's statements regarding the unreliability of trusting the Western side to fulfill its commitments come while Hassan Rouhani, the President, and Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister, have always emphasized the good prospects of implementing the JCPOA and Iran's economic progress through the implementation of the nuclear agreement. Despite his criticisms of the process of returning Iran's funds, Khamenei also stated that "we have funds abroad... When they return, even if it is ten billion, when it returns, these should not be spent in ways that waste money." He emphasized: "They should be careful that the money that comes in is not wasted. It should not be spent on unnecessary purchases and wasteful activities. Management of financial resources that come from banks and foreign centers is essential." Khamenei stated that in the JCPOA, "we could not maintain the red lines in some cases." Khamenei further stated: "In this recent nuclear agreement, although we approved this agreement and accepted the organizers of this agreement, this was also the case. Our Foreign Minister told me that we could not maintain this red line in some areas." He added: "This means that when the counterpart is a government like America, which has money, resources, active diplomacy, and various factors around the world, coming to terms with them means giving up some things that one stands firm on." Khamenei continued his remarks on Sunday by saying that "the counterpart does not consider the resolution of the nuclear issue sufficient" and wants to imply that "JCPOAs two and three and so on must come into existence for us to live comfortably." Hassan Rouhani had previously spoken about the necessity of implementing "JCPOA two" domestically, and his government has also called for using the model of nuclear negotiations to resolve other disputes between Iran and global powers. Khamenei, in his remarks in Mashhad, stated that the "enemy" seeks to "change the character of the Islamic Republic" and said that "coming to terms with America means giving up some things that one stands firm on." He emphasized that "if we retreat, it will lead to questioning the adaptation of the laws of the Islamic Republic with Islamic Sharia and saying that it is against freedom." Khamenei continued: "Gradually, they will bring up the question of why the Quds Force was formed and why the IRGC was formed at all?" He said that they want to impose a "forced dilemma" that "either we must give in to America and its demands in many areas, or we must endure the pressures, threats, and losses resulting from opposing America." He added that "they want to promote this as a discourse and have this idea propagated both inside and outside the country." The leader of the Islamic Republic emphasized that they want the "Iranian nation to be forced to give up its red lines in resolving these disputes."