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| Iran’s Supreme Leader Orders Parliament to Vote on Nuclear Deal | Iran’s Supreme Leader Orders Parliament to Vote on Nuclear Deal |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| TEHRAN — A day after President Obama secured enough votes to ensure approval of the Iranian nuclear deal in the United States Congress, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Thursday ordered Parliament to vote on the agreement and threatened to cancel the pact entirely if the West merely suspended, rather than canceled, economic sanctions, state news media reported. | TEHRAN — A day after President Obama secured enough votes to ensure approval of the Iranian nuclear deal in the United States Congress, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Thursday ordered Parliament to vote on the agreement and threatened to cancel the pact entirely if the West merely suspended, rather than canceled, economic sanctions, state news media reported. |
| While the Iranian Parliament is expected to approve the agreement, the announcement nonetheless represented a setback for President Hassan Rouhani and his team of nuclear negotiators, who have long held that the deal should be ratified by the Supreme National Security Council, which Mr. Rouhani heads. Their fear is that a debate in Parliament will provide a platform for strident, archconservative opponents of the pact. | While the Iranian Parliament is expected to approve the agreement, the announcement nonetheless represented a setback for President Hassan Rouhani and his team of nuclear negotiators, who have long held that the deal should be ratified by the Supreme National Security Council, which Mr. Rouhani heads. Their fear is that a debate in Parliament will provide a platform for strident, archconservative opponents of the pact. |
| Addressing a gathering of Shiite clerics, Ayatollah Khamenei said that Parliament “should not be bypassed” in the review of the nuclear deal, which would lift sanctions against Iran in exchange for a series of restrictions on the country’s nuclear program. As he has been all along, the supreme leader was careful not to tip his hand, saying it was up to the “representatives of the nation” to decide whether to accept it. | Addressing a gathering of Shiite clerics, Ayatollah Khamenei said that Parliament “should not be bypassed” in the review of the nuclear deal, which would lift sanctions against Iran in exchange for a series of restrictions on the country’s nuclear program. As he has been all along, the supreme leader was careful not to tip his hand, saying it was up to the “representatives of the nation” to decide whether to accept it. |
| Nevertheless, Ayatollah Khamenei is widely seen as the architect behind the nuclear agreement, and analysts expect that lawmakers will support the deal, which has the public backing of Ali Larijani, the influential head of Parliament. | Nevertheless, Ayatollah Khamenei is widely seen as the architect behind the nuclear agreement, and analysts expect that lawmakers will support the deal, which has the public backing of Ali Larijani, the influential head of Parliament. |
| Sounding a more cautionary note, Ayatollah Khamenei expressed doubt about whether the world powers would lift all of the sanctions and warned that Iran would cancel the deal if any of them remained in place. | Sounding a more cautionary note, Ayatollah Khamenei expressed doubt about whether the world powers would lift all of the sanctions and warned that Iran would cancel the deal if any of them remained in place. |
| “If we compromised on certain issues in the negotiations and conceded certain things, it was mainly to have the sanctions lifted,” he said. “If the sanctions are not to be lifted, there will not be a trade-off. Therefore, this issue has to be clarified.” | “If we compromised on certain issues in the negotiations and conceded certain things, it was mainly to have the sanctions lifted,” he said. “If the sanctions are not to be lifted, there will not be a trade-off. Therefore, this issue has to be clarified.” |
| Ayatollah Khamenei blamed what he called “badly speaking American officials, who are making statements, saying the structure of the sanctions must remain intact.” | Ayatollah Khamenei blamed what he called “badly speaking American officials, who are making statements, saying the structure of the sanctions must remain intact.” |
| He seemed to be referring to Obama administration officials, who in defending the deal have emphasized that sanctions could be reimposed at any time if Iran is caught trying to conduct research or development on a nuclear weapon. | He seemed to be referring to Obama administration officials, who in defending the deal have emphasized that sanctions could be reimposed at any time if Iran is caught trying to conduct research or development on a nuclear weapon. |
| Ayatollah Khamenei urged Mr. Rouhani’s administration to counter such statements. “Do not say that Americans are making these remarks to reassure their domestic rivals,” he said. “Of course, I believe that the domestic struggle in the U.S. is real.” | Ayatollah Khamenei urged Mr. Rouhani’s administration to counter such statements. “Do not say that Americans are making these remarks to reassure their domestic rivals,” he said. “Of course, I believe that the domestic struggle in the U.S. is real.” |
| He added, “But, what is officially stated deserves to get a response. If it is not answered, then the statements of the other party become consolidated.” | |
| Mr. Larijani, who has been visiting New York for an international conference of speakers of parliaments, said on Thursday that he expected more “drama” in his own legislature than in the Congress over the nuclear deal. | |
| A 15-member committee of the Iranian Parliament is expected to render its verdict soon, he said, after which the Parliament as a whole will decide whether to support the deal. | |
| That is expected “in about a month,” Mr. Larijani said, which would most likely mean that a final verdict from Iran will not come before Mr. Rouhani arrives in New York for the annual meeting of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly. | |
| Mr. Rouhani is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Sept. 28, the same morning as President Obama. | |
| “I think the drama in my country will be bigger than that of yours,” he said, speaking through an official interpreter, during a meeting with about a dozen journalists at a hotel near the United Nations. | |
| During his visit, Mr. Larijani described the United States as a bully and Iran as a deft negotiator that had extracted gains from the nuclear talks. Earlier in the week, he told a gathering of lawmakers from around the world that “bullying doesn’t work anymore.” | |
| He told reporters on Thursday that Iranian negotiators had prevailed on allowance of limited uranium enrichment — “that’s an accomplishment” — and said that many of his fellow lawmakers objected in particular to the snapback mechanism that allows United Nations sanctions to be imposed automatically if Iran is shown to have breached its end of the deal. “The U.S. can’t continue to play the role of a bully” he said, adding that despite the limitations, he regarded it as a sound agreement. | |
| “Iran also achieved some of its goals,” he said, prayer beads in hand. | |
| Iran has stopped short of saying that the nuclear accord would create the basis for broader diplomatic rapprochement with the United States. |