Khamenei Warns Certain Political Factions Against Trusting the U.S.

On Friday, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic emphasized that any individual or faction in Iran that trusts the United States has committed a "great mistake and will be slapped." Without naming names, he accused some political factions within the country of not having defined their boundaries with the enemy. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on June 14, the anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini's death, likened the boundary with the U.S. to the borders of the country, warning, "Do not allow the lines separating us from the enemy to fade." He added that "some of these factions in the country have not defined their lines with the enemy." The Supreme Leader has repeatedly referred to trust in the U.S. as a "great mistake," stating, "We should not forget the experience of the nuclear negotiations; if we make concessions, the U.S. will not abandon its destructive role." According to Tasnim News Agency, he described the U.S. as "untrustworthy and unreliable," claiming that the Islamic Republic has adhered to its commitments in the Vienna nuclear agreement, while the other side has "backtracked." In recent years, some individuals close to the Supreme Leader have referred to reformist groups in Iran as "agents of America." Meanwhile, Khamenei and his close associates have repeatedly warned about U.S. "influence" in the country's decision-making centers following the Vienna nuclear agreement. In contrast, President Hassan Rouhani, Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and Ali Motahari, a member of parliament, have warned against the "political reckoning" and "factionalizing" of the issue of U.S. influence in Iran. In response to documents published about Ayatollah Khomeini's message to the U.S., the Supreme Leader remarked that does the U.S. "shy away from document forgery?" He emphasized that the Islamic Republic also has "small and insignificant enemies," but "the main hostilities come from the wicked U.S. and Britain." Recently, the BBC reported that according to a secret CIA document titled "Islam in Iran," "Ruhollah Khomeini quietly sent a message to the John F. Kennedy administration after several months of imprisonment in Qasr prison and house arrest in Qeytarieh, Tehran, in mid-Aban 1342, to ensure that his verbal attacks were not misinterpreted, as he supports U.S. interests in Iran." Hamid Ansari, Deputy of the Institute for the Compilation and Publication of Ayatollah Khomeini's Works, stated on Thursday, June 13, that the BBC report "lacks legal validity and authenticity." Khamenei further explained why Iran does not cooperate with the U.S. in the region, including in Syria, stating that "if the Islamic Republic becomes naive and enters their game, it means completing their plan, which is against political independence." He subtly referred to letters from the U.S. President, saying, "One may be tempted to cooperate with a superpower in solving international issues. The essence of the matter is that they have a plan and say, 'Come play in my plan,' determining the type of play to achieve the goal set by the plan." In recent years, reports have emerged regarding letters from the U.S. President to the Supreme Leader and Khamenei's responses to some of these letters. The Supreme Leader has previously stated that he has rejected U.S. requests for cooperation in combating the Islamic State group. Khamenei repeatedly emphasized his revolutionary stance, stating that "contrary to the binaries that are the gifts of foreigners and the words of enemies," "being revolutionary does not mean being extremist." He identified five indicators of "revolutionary spirit": adherence to the fundamental principles and values of the revolution, targeting the ideals of the revolution and striving to achieve them, commitment to the comprehensive independence of the country, non-submission to the enemy and great jihad, and religious and political piety. In recent months, Khamenei has also called for the revolutionary nature of Islamic Republic institutions, including the Assembly of Experts. In another part of his speech, he stated that "the system of domination works on information engineering," describing new communication tools like the internet and cyberspace as "tools for dominating the culture of a country" and asserting that "the enemy's dominance over these tools must be removed." The issue of social networks has been a topic of discussion between the government and institutions under the Supreme Leader since the early months of Hassan Rouhani's presidency. While some institutions under Ayatollah Khamenei have called for the blocking of these networks, the government emphasizes methods such as "smart filtering" to control these networks. Khamenei, in another part of his speech, indirectly referred to U.S. President's remarks about a new opportunity for Iran to join the global economy after the Vienna nuclear agreement, stating that "we should not be digested in the global economy." He accused the U.S. of intending to "swallow" Iran's economy, asserting that "merging" into the global economy is "not an honor." He added, "We should not postpone everything to foreign investment. It is said that they bring new technology; we agree if they come. If they do not come, our youth can still achieve new technology." He claimed that "today, analysts of sensitive economic and political issues around the world are betting on our country's resistance economy." In the concluding part of his speech, in response to some slogans from attendees against President Hassan Rouhani's government, he stated, "Do not disrupt the unity of the government and the people." Khamenei designated the year 95 as "Resistance Economy, Action and Practice," a term used to describe an economy independent of foreign countries, especially during sanctions. In the last days of the previous year, during a meeting with members of the Assembly of Experts, Khamenei referred to remarks by one of the commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, stating that "even if they surround our country, this institution will not face problems in missile production," saying, "This means progress." In contrast, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran, on March 22, 2016, without directly referring to Khamenei's remarks, stated, "Can we be happy about being besieged in today's world?" Rafsanjani also called for Iran to join the World Trade Organization, and some of his close associates, including Hossein Marashi, spokesman for the Construction Workers' Party, have called for attracting foreign investment to increase the country's economic growth. Barack Obama, the President of the United States, in his Nowruz message to Iranians, stated that Iran has gained the opportunity to rejoin the global economy after the Vienna nuclear agreement.