US Emphasizes Gradual Lifting of Sanctions Despite Iranian Officials' Demands

Hours after the pessimistic stance of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic regarding the Lausanne agreement, the spokesperson for the US State Department reiterated that the US does not intend to respond to all public opinions of Iranian officials and emphasized the phased lifting of sanctions based on the Lausanne agreement. According to the US State Department's website, Jeff Rathke, the spokesperson, reiterated in response to reporters' questions that the sanctions imposed against Iran would be lifted 'in a phased manner.' The spokesperson also explained that this lifting of sanctions would occur after Iran fulfills its commitments as part of the nuclear agreement. On Thursday, April 20, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reacted to the fact sheet released by the US State Department regarding the Lausanne agreement, stating: 'This statement they published — which they call a fact sheet — is mostly false.' The Supreme Leader agreed with President Hassan Rouhani in one instance, clearly stating that once the final technical agreement is reached between the parties, sanctions against Iran should be lifted all at once. Mr. Khamenei said: 'Sanctions must be — if God Almighty has decreed it and they can reach an agreement — completely lifted on the day of the agreement; this must happen. If the lifting of sanctions is to be contingent upon another process, then why did we even negotiate?' However, despite the wishes of Iranian leaders, Washington has so far maintained its position, emphasizing that the lifting of sanctions must be 'phased' and executed step by step. Meanwhile, opponents of the nuclear agreement of the Obama administration and other global powers with the Islamic Republic of Iran have used the recent statements of the Supreme Leader to attack the US government. According to the website 'Politico,' Republican Senator Mark Kirk stated that the remarks of Iranian leaders are evidence that — contrary to what is said — the framework of the nuclear agreement in Lausanne has not been established. Mr. Kirk said: 'It becomes clear that Iran has, in fact, failed to reach an agreement with the United States and its partners on a political framework that includes the components of a comprehensive agreement.' In another part of his statement, Senator Kirk announced that 'at best, Iran agreed to oppose key issues related to nuclear weapons with the United States and continue discussions.' Meanwhile, another Republican Senator, Tom Cotton, referred on Twitter to 'contradictory messages' from Tehran and Washington, stating that the parties have not reached an agreement on how much oversight Iran's nuclear program should have under the recent agreement. A month earlier, Mr. Cotton had warned Islamic Republic officials in an open letter signed by several Republican senators that any nuclear agreement could be canceled by the next US president. On the other hand, Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer, in support of the Lausanne agreement, urged members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to delay the approval of a bill to review the nuclear agreement by Congress. Republican members also stated that they do not intend to do so. They rejected Ms. Boxer's request, stating that the recent remarks of Iranian leaders only highlight the urgency of passing a bill that would provide a way to reject the nuclear agreement in Congress. The author of this bill, Bob Corker, a Republican member, believes that passing his proposed bill will strengthen the government's hand in negotiations with Iran and discussions about lifting sanctions.