Larijani: The Nuclear File is a National Issue, Not a Tribal Matter

The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament criticized the statements of critics of the Vienna nuclear agreement, who claim that sanctions are "only lifted on paper," saying that "some are unhappy with the people's happiness" and "want to create anxiety in society." According to the state news agency IRNA, Ali Larijani emphasized on Monday, October 19, that Iran's nuclear file is "not a tribal matter" but "a national issue," stating that the "Nuclear Council" has outlined the path of nuclear negotiations in its sessions. He referred to the lifting of sanctions on Iran by the European Union and the suspension of these sanctions by the United States, accusing those who claim that the lifting of Iran's sanctions "can only be implemented on paper" of wanting to "distort the issue" and misinform the public. Larijani said, "If, as some say, the lifting of these sanctions and their actions are superficial, we have also passed a law that states if they do not fulfill their commitments, we will stop the implementation of the JCPOA." He emphasized, "If we had rejected the negotiations in Parliament, the opposition would have said that you rejected it, and now we want to impose new sanctions." Previously, Saeed Jalili and members of Iran's former nuclear negotiation team, as well as some members of the JCPOA Commission in Parliament, had emphasized that even if the Vienna nuclear agreement is implemented, "the structure of Western sanctions against Iran will remain in place." In another part of his remarks, Larijani stated, "The last three years of negotiations were conducted intensively, and the Nuclear Council held more than 20 sessions, but some say these sessions were unproductive and non-strategic, whereas decisions made in these sessions even determined the course of negotiations for the coming months." Previously, some members of the nuclear negotiation team had reported that the details of the nuclear negotiations were coordinated with a council consisting of the President, the Speaker of Parliament, Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and Ali Akbar Velayati, the international advisor to the Supreme Leader. Larijani had previously referred to Iran's nuclear file as the "Leader's file" and stated that this plan was "coordinated with the overall country and system." However, on Tuesday, Alireza Zakani, the head of the JCPOA Commission in Parliament, called Larijani's statements "incorrect" and stated that "the responsibility for the nuclear file lies with Larijani and Rouhani." He added, "The negotiating team concealed this from both the National Security Council and the Nuclear Committee, although Larijani tries to convince that the Nuclear Committee was informed." Zakani also claimed that Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, told Mohammad Hassan Abutalebi-Fard, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, that this council had not had a "serious connection" with the negotiating team. Representatives aligned with Zakani had previously attempted to imply during the voting on the general principles of the JCPOA-related plan in Parliament that the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council was opposed to the Parliament's plan regarding the JCPOA, but Larijani's emphasis on Shamkhani's support for the plan, and even his phone call with the Supreme National Security Council, rendered this claim irrelevant. In recent days, statements suggesting the involvement of Asghar Hajazi, a senior member of the Leader's office, in preventing the proposals of representatives opposing the implementation of the Vienna nuclear agreement have received significant attention, and the office of the Supreme Leader issued a statement denying the "independent role" of some of its officials in reviewing this plan. Previously, members of the nuclear negotiation team and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had repeatedly stated that discussions of the nuclear negotiations were presented to the Supreme Leader "in detail." However, Ayatollah Khamenei stated on April 8 that "sometimes it is said that the details of these negotiations are under the Leader's supervision, while this statement is not accurate." In another part of his remarks, Larijani said, "The country's economic structure must be planned in such a way that it does not change for several decades in the future, and governments must be responsible for its implementation, rather than seeking philosophical justifications." He added, "Some in the country only shout, while one cannot govern with shouting; we must acknowledge that such problems exist and that the solutions are as follows." The Speaker of Parliament also stated that "ideals" in economic matters "can be very lofty," but one cannot close the doors to the world.