Rouhani Emphasizes Full Compliance of Government with Ali Khamenei

Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, emphasized the government's 'complete' compliance with the 'guidance' of Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, stating that weakening the leader 'weakens all of us.' According to the IRNA news agency, Rouhani, speaking at the first cabinet meeting of the new year on Sunday evening, stated: 'I clearly announce that the leadership is the leader of all of us. According to religious, legal, and national criteria, the government fully complies with the leader's guidance, and whenever they give orders, we will strive to implement them exactly.' The Iranian President stressed: 'The greatness of the leadership is the greatness of all of us, the greatness of the system and the country, and weakening him is weakening all of us, the country, and the system.' He further mentioned that 'unfortunately, some are seeking division and discord.' These remarks come after his comments about using the approach taken to achieve the nuclear agreement (JCPOA) to resolve other existing issues faced criticism from some conservatives, and Ayatollah Khamenei also expressed opposing views on this matter. Rouhani had previously spoken about the necessity of implementing 'JCPOA 2' to resolve existing political rifts within the country, and his government has also called for drawing lessons from the nuclear negotiations to resolve other disputes between Iran and global powers. In his Nowruz message, Rouhani also emphasized the need to turn to 'JCPOA 2,' stating that the people in the elections of March 7, 2016, 'initiated JCPOA 2.' He added: 'JCPOA 2 is the national joint action within the country that will begin with unity, reconciliation, and empathy; a JCPOA that starts with ethics before economics.' Hours after Rouhani's statements, however, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in his speech in Mashhad, said that the Western side 'does not consider the resolution of the nuclear issue sufficient' and wants to convey that 'JCPOAs two, three, etc., must be created for us to be able to live comfortably.' A few days later, Ahmad Khatami, the temporary Friday prayer leader of Tehran, criticized the discussion of JCPOA two and three by Rouhani during his Friday prayer sermon on April 6, stating that some place all their hopes on the West and pretend that if the JCPOA is resolved, Iran will become a paradise and a great victory will be achieved. Now that 'apparently this candy has tasted good,' they are talking about JCPOA two and three. In this context, Ismail Kowsari, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, also called Rouhani's remarks about JCPOA two and three 'deviation,' and Nasrullah Pejmanfar, a representative from Mashhad in the Assembly, interpreted JCPOA two as meaning the abandonment of the Islamic Revolution in all areas. On Sunday, Rouhani continued his remarks in the cabinet meeting, stating that 'unfortunately, some are seeking division and discord' and emphasized that 'division and discord are detrimental to all.' He added: 'Certainly, the enemies of this nation welcome the emergence of divisions, and in this case, they see the ground suitable for their plots. Today's security in Iran, in a turbulent region, is the result of the empathy and harmony between the government and the people.'