Motahari: Resolving Some US Sanctions Will Definitely Take Time

Ali Motahari, a representative from Tehran in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, has described the "negative propaganda" against the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers as "unnatural." He stated, "It cannot be said that the good parts of the JCPOA belong to the leadership and the bad parts belong to Mr. Rouhani's government." According to ILNA news agency, on the fifth of Ordibehesht (April 25), during a speech in Arak, Motahari mentioned that the current opposition to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is "more politically rooted" and emphasized that "the institutions profiting from sanctions are giving false leads." He noted that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic has had "oversight" over the entire negotiation process between Tehran and the US, Russia, China, the UK, France, and Germany, stating, "The entire system has accepted it. Therefore, it cannot be said that the good parts of the JCPOA belong to the leadership and the bad parts belong to Mr. Rouhani's government." The Tehran representative also expressed satisfaction with the progress in implementing joint actions, saying, "The Europeans have fulfilled their commitments." He acknowledged that there are problems related to some US sanctions, and resolving these issues will definitely take time as they relate to years past. Motahari added, "There are only problems related to some US sanctions, and resolving these knots will definitely take time due to their historical context." Previously, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized the performance of the United States while also stating that the results of the Europeans' visits to Iran are not noticeable. US officials and the Iranian government have emphasized that access for Tehran to the US financial system was not foreseen in the nuclear agreement. The US Secretary of State has also stated that Washington does not prohibit international banks from cooperating with Iranian companies and institutions that are not under sanctions. In his remarks, Motahari addressed the issue of the seizure of $2 billion of Iran's assets in the US, emphasizing that this matter pertains to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government and the "purchase of US bonds" by it; and it has no relation to the JCPOA and Hassan Rouhani's government. The US Supreme Court ruled on the first of Ordibehesht (April 21) to seize $2 billion of Iran's frozen assets to pay the families of American victims of the 1983 bombings and other attacks "related to Iran." Iran has protested this ruling. On the other hand, several senior officials from Rouhani's government have described the actions of the previous administration in purchasing US government bonds and not removing these assets after sanctions as "carelessness," "lack of foresight," and a precursor to the seizure of assets. This issue arose after some principlist media criticized Rouhani's government for its implementation of the Vienna nuclear agreement. Motahari's statements in support of the nuclear agreement come at a time when criticism from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei regarding the implementation of the JCPOA and attacks from some principlists against this agreement have increased in recent weeks.