Tehran Friday Prayer Leader: Negotiating Team Has the Right to Negotiate Only on Nuclear Issues

The Friday Prayer Leader of Tehran described the presence of what he called 'ambiguous and interpretative' terms in a potential final agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group as a 'trap set by the enemies' and emphasized that this agreement must be 'completely transparent and free of interpretative terms.' He also stated that the negotiating team has the right to negotiate only on nuclear issues. According to Fars News Agency, Ahmad Khatami, in his Friday prayer sermon on April 21, urged the Iranian nuclear negotiating team to be cautious about the inclusion of 'ambiguous and interpretative' terms in this agreement. Previously, Sadeq Amoli Larijani, the head of the judiciary, had asked the Iranian negotiating team on Wednesday, April 19, to ensure that the details of the agreement with the P5+1 countries are written 'clearly' to avoid issues that could lead to 'foreign exploitation.' Meanwhile, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, the deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament, also stated on Tuesday, April 17, that 'terms and expressions that allow for interpretation and reinterpretation should not be used in the agreed texts.' Iranian opponents of the Lausanne agreement have cited ambiguities regarding the lifting of sanctions, the operation of the Fordow site, and the duration of uranium enrichment suspension as points of concern. Some of these critics, including several principlist members of parliament, have also announced that the texts released by Iran and the U.S. regarding this agreement are different and have called for the Iranian Foreign Ministry to provide the text of this agreement. Meanwhile, Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, has reported that the 'fact sheet' regarding Iran's agreement with the P5+1 in Lausanne has been prepared and will be published at the discretion of Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister. However, Abbas Araghchi, a senior member of the Iranian negotiating team, stated that 'Iran's fact sheet' is the same as the 'detailed' statements made by the foreign minister regarding the Lausanne agreement. Khatami, in another part of his Friday sermon, referred to the Supreme Leader's remarks and stated that the Iranian negotiating team has the right to negotiate only in the 'nuclear field' and does not have the right to negotiate on military issues. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, emphasized on Thursday that negotiations between Iran and the U.S. are solely about the nuclear issue. He also mentioned, 'If the other side refrains from its usual deviations, this will be an experience for us that, very well, we can negotiate with them on another issue.' The Friday Prayer Leader of Tehran also requested officials to respond to criticisms raised regarding the Lausanne agreement, adding, 'It is unwise and imprudent to insult or worse, to include curses in some statements, for example, to say that opponents are aligned with the enemies of Islam and the Zionists.' Khatami also stated, 'Both supporters and opponents of the statement are expected to respect the classification [confidentiality] of issues; it is sometimes seen that both supporters and opponents do not adhere to the classification of issues.' The Supreme Leader also asked the Iranian negotiating team on Thursday to invite prominent opponents of the Lausanne agreement to hear their views. Meanwhile, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran, stated on Tuesday, March 3, that the group known as 'the alarmists' in Iran has become 'aligned' with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel. The term 'alarmists' has been used in Iranian media following a conference titled 'We Are Alarmed' held on May 2 for critics of the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 countries, most of whom are close to the Stability Front.