Rouhani: Domestic Cohesion Increases the Negotiating Team's Capability in the Next Phase

Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, stated on Saturday, April 15, that "unity and domestic cohesion" can enhance the capability of the Islamic Republic's negotiating team in the next phases of nuclear negotiations and the final drafting of the agreement. Concurrently with the President's remarks, several conservative members of Parliament criticized the "ambiguities" in the Lausanne agreement, and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is scheduled to attend the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Parliament. According to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), Rouhani noted that "the success achieved in this phase of nuclear negotiations has increased hopes for a complete resolution of problems," adding, "Enhancing hope and social capital, unity, and domestic cohesion will lead to an increase in the negotiating team's capability in the continuation of the path toward drafting the final agreement." The report states that during a Nowruz meeting with a group of ministers, deputies, and executives, the President emphasized that one of the first benefits of the government's and people's solidarity was the success achieved at the beginning of the year 94 (2015) in the nuclear field. Iran and the 1+5 countries announced on Friday, April 2 (13 Farvardin), in Lausanne, Switzerland, that they had defined the "framework" for the final agreement. Rouhani also stated regarding the Lausanne agreement that the negotiations reaffirmed the Islamic Republic of Iran's right to enrich uranium on its soil, the Arak heavy water reactor will continue to operate with newer technology, and the Fordow and Natanz facilities, which were initially demanded to be completely shut down by the negotiating party, will remain operational. Furthermore, proving that representatives of the Islamic Republic can sit at the table with six world powers and defend their interests with authority is a significant achievement. While the Iranian President has called for domestic cohesion to support the negotiators, since last Friday, Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, has refrained from commenting on the Lausanne agreement. Meanwhile, some representatives of the leader have implicitly supported this agreement, while Hossein Shariatmadari, the leader's representative at the Kayhan Institute, has strongly criticized it. "In negotiations, our words should not be the only ones that prevail." In this context, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the Mayor of Tehran, also wrote in a note regarding the Lausanne agreement: "We should not abandon the negotiating team; this is akin to questioning their battle in the middle of a battlefield due to personal and group disagreements. Concerns about the details of the agreement are acceptable, but having unreasonable expectations from a negotiation at this level is illogical and irrational." According to the Farda News website, the Mayor of Tehran added: "The logic of negotiation is fundamentally one of trade, and the balance of this trade is important, but some comment as if only our words should prevail in the negotiations!" Qalibaf further stated: "We should not express joy and elation merely upon the announcement of an agreement until the details are fully and transparently presented. However, certainly, what is stated in the joint statement, if the interpretation of a sudden lifting of sanctions in exchange for Iran's actions is correct, we should hope that the final drafting of the agreement and the detailing will proceed in the same manner." Concurrently with the criticism and support from some political figures regarding the nuclear agreement between Iran and the 5+1 countries in Lausanne, according to reports from Iranian news agencies, people in several cities in Iran expressed their joy over this agreement by taking to the streets on Thursday and Friday, April 13 and 14. In this context, Obama stated: Diplomacy is the best way to curb Iran's nuclear program. Zarif is going to the Parliament Commission to "explain the Lausanne statement." John Kerry stated: The agreement with Iran is vital for the region. Celebrations in some cities of Iran for the nuclear agreement.