Khamenei's Representative in the IRGC: Engagement Has Become America's Tool for Influence in Iran

Continuing the attacks by close associates of Ayatollah Khamenei on Hassan Rouhani, the representative of the Supreme Leader in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps criticized the Vienna nuclear agreement, stating that "engagement has become America's tool for influence" in Iran, and the goal of U.S. officials in negotiating with Iran has been "beyond" the nuclear agreement. According to Fars News Agency, Ali Saidi, speaking on Sunday, July 2, to a gathering of clerics in Fars province, referred to events such as the Nojeh coup and protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election, saying: "Today, engagement has become a tool for American influence." He added: "It has become clear that their goal was beyond the nuclear issue, and when they could not achieve their goal, they returned to their original position, we have given credit and received debt." Last year, Saidi also accused Rouhani's government of seeking normalization of relations with the U.S. through the Vienna nuclear agreement. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, has repeatedly warned about what he calls America's "influence" in Iran following the Vienna nuclear agreement, while Rouhani and his close associates have also warned about the "partisan use of the term influence." Meanwhile, the head of the judiciary stated on Sunday that armed activities within the framework of what he described as the "influence project" are considered "combatants," and non-armed activities in many cases are considered "corruption on earth." The Supreme Leader's representative also claimed without providing evidence that the U.S. has "three programs: supporting Western-oriented and Western-believing elements, conditioning public opinion, and strengthening the flow of Western-leaning technocrats." He also mentioned "supporting and relying on the resistance axis," "confronting the system of domination and arrogance," "changing the power equation," "defeating the conspiracy of intra-civilizational war," "relying on national defensive power and indigenous weapons," and "relying on the internal strength of power" as Iran's actions to, as he put it, "neutralize America's conspiracies." On June 3, Ali Saidi also implicitly referred to Hassan Rouhani and his close associates as the "Niyavaran circle" and said that pursuing the idea of "peaceful coexistence with the West" in Iran is the result of this group's activities. His remarks came amid increasing verbal clashes between Hassan Rouhani and Ayatollah Khamenei and also the institutions under his supervision following Rouhani's re-election. In recent days, the spokesperson for the judiciary, the Attorney General, and the commander of the IRGC have also attacked Rouhani. During the Quds Day rally, some around Rouhani chanted slogans such as "Death to the hypocrite" and "Rouhani, congratulations on your connection to Banisadr," which received widespread coverage in Iran. A few days before the chanting by a group of participants in the Quds Day rally against Hassan Rouhani, Ayatollah Khamenei stated on July 13 that the experience of 1979 should not be repeated, where the then-president [Abulhassan Banisadr] polarized society and divided people into opposing and supporting groups. Despite the continued attacks by conservatives on the government, Alireza Zakani, a conservative representative in the ninth parliament, proposed a "one-sided ceasefire" from the opposition to the government on July 1. While some conservative figures, including Ahmad Tavakoli, welcomed this proposal, Abdullah Ramazanzadeh, spokesperson for Mohammad Khatami's government, and Mostafa Tajzadeh, a reformist figure, reacted to Zakani's statement by proposing a "national dialogue." However, Zakani on Tuesday, July 3, referring to Iran's new oil contract with Total France, once again attacked Rouhani's oil contracts, saying that "this is a main issue, not a secondary one; it is time for action and appropriate measures, and a ceasefire, even if one-sided, is not permissible." The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, on June 7, using the military term "fire at will," had asked "soft war officers" to take action and make decisions when there are "disruptions and shutdowns" in the central intellectual, cultural, and political institutions of the country. He later announced in the Eid al-Fitr prayer that "fire at will means spontaneous and clean cultural work." In this context, the attack by the prosecutor and the IRGC commander on Rouhani coincided with the proposal for a "one-sided ceasefire." The first vice president of Rouhani stated that we must accept the people's vote. Majidi: A new sedition is ahead. Senai Rad: Governments have imposed some companies on the IRGC instead of debts. The IRGC commander's strong reaction to Rouhani's criticism of the IRGC's entry into the economy.