Khamenei's First Reaction to the Agreement Only Praised the Iranian Negotiating Team

Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, stated during a meeting with Hassan Rouhani's cabinet: "People do not make mistakes in thoughtful and considered judgments. Therefore, from such judgments of the people, it can be understood which official is competent and which is not." Khamenei's meeting with the Iranian government delegation took place on Tuesday, July 23, just hours after the announcement of the nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers. However, reports from his information base indicate that the remarks of the Supreme Leader in this meeting were more of an explanation of the instructions and recommendations of the first Imam of Shiites to Malik Ashtar, one of his commanders. According to this report, Ayatollah Khamenei only praised the Iranian negotiating team, calling their efforts in these negotiations "sincere and diligent." He stated in part of his speech: "By the order of the Commander of the Faithful, one must overlook the slips and mistakes of the people, except in cases where divine limits are violated or there is a fight against Islam and the Islamic government." Iran and the 1+5 group, consisting of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany, finally reached a comprehensive agreement on Tehran's nuclear program on Tuesday after two years of negotiations, an agreement that means the lifting of financial sanctions against Iran related to its nuclear activities. At the same time, Iran will also limit its nuclear program. This event immediately elicited reactions from Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani, the presidents of the United States and Iran, respectively. Obama emphasized that this agreement closes the paths for Iran to obtain nuclear weapons. Rouhani also stated that Iran has achieved all its goals regarding the lifting of sanctions and the continuation of its nuclear activities with this agreement. Additionally, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of Iran's Expediency Discernment Council, welcomed the nuclear agreement, calling it a "victory" for Iran and even deemed it "more important" than the recapture of Khorramshahr during the war with Iraq. He said on Tuesday during a meeting with cultural and media figures: "A great job has been done, but there are still alarmists who raise objections." Rafsanjani also stated that Iran does not intend to produce a nuclear bomb, thus it is not afraid of visits to its military centers. Previously, Ayatollah Khamenei had emphasized that visits to Iran's military centers are a red line in the nuclear negotiations. He had predicted that even if the nuclear negotiations reached an agreement, sanctions against the Islamic Republic would remain in place. Khamenei has also repeatedly stated that he believes negotiations will not yield results.