Iran’s supreme leader has said that the historic nuclear deal with world powers struck this week would not change Iran’s policy towards the United States.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised speech that US policy in the Middle East was not in line with Tehran’s strategy. Iran would continue to support its allies in the Middle East including the Lebanese Hezbollah, Palestinian resistance groups and the Syrian government, he said.
Iran’s direct talks with Washington were limited to the nuclear issue, Khamenei said, and that there could not be any dialogue with Washington over other issues. However, he has said in the past that the door to other issues could open if the US carried out its obligations under the deal in good faith.
The nuclear agreement will see US, UN and European sanctions that have hit the country’s economy lifted, to some extent. In return, Iran has pledged to place curbs on its nuclear programme for at least a decade to assuage western concerns that it is trying to develop nuclear weapons.
Iran denies it has a nuclear weapons programme, insisting its atomic programme is for civilian energy and medical purposes only.
Khamenei restated that position on Saturday, mentioning a fatwa he himself issued against a nuclear weapons programme.
He stressed that the agreement with the UK, China, France, Russia, the US and Germany was not yet law and would have to be carefully scrutinised. However, he praised president Hassan Rouhani and Iran’s negotiators.
“They really took pains and worked hard,” Khamenei said of the team led by foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. “The text that has been prepared, whether it is approved or not, they have done their part and they should have their reward.”
Khamenei has the final word on all policy matters, foreign and domestic, including on the nuclear deal. In numerous speeches before this week’s accord, he appeared ambiguous about the talks, consistently talking down the chances of success but at the same time hailing Iran’s negotiators.
Under a law passed last month, Iran’s parliament must approve the nuclear deal but questions of whether the west’s side of the bargain has been met rests with the supreme national security council.
The council is headed by Rouhani and it reports directly to Khamenei.
