According to Ayatollah Khamenei, Joe Biden and Donald Trump have the same policy

White beanie white beanie. Joe Biden and Donald Trump, it’s all the same for the Iranian Supreme Leader who, in a speech, this Saturday gave no sign of inclination to a rapid resumption of negotiations on Iranian nuclear power. “The current US government [du président Biden] is no different from the previous one because what he demands of Iran on the nuclear issue is the same as what Trump demanded, ”Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.

According to a video excerpt from this speech made to members of the government, the Iranian Supreme Leader added: “Him [Donald Trump] said it in a way and they [l’équipe Biden] with different words ”. The Iranian number one made these remarks while Westerners, Russians and Chinese have been waiting since the end of June for a sign of Tehran’s willingness to resume the discussions started in Vienna in April to try to save the international Iranian nuclear agreement of 2015 .

“Illegal threat” and “reciprocal response”

Concluded in Vienna, this agreement offers Iran relief from Western and UN sanctions in exchange for its commitment never to acquire atomic weapons, and a drastic reduction in its nuclear program, placed under strict control. of ONU. But it has threatened to shatter since Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the United States out of it in May 2018 before reinstating the American sanctions against Iran that the agreement had allowed to be lifted. In response, Iran gradually abandoned from May 2019 most of the limits to its nuclear activities provided for in the agreement.

The speech of Iranian number one also comes the day after a meeting between Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a fervent critic, like his predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu, of this agreement. Joe Biden told his Israeli ally that the United States is committed to ensuring that “Iran never develops a nuclear weapon.” “We favor diplomacy (…). But if diplomacy fails, we are ready to turn to other options, ”he warned.

Joe Biden’s words are “an illegal threat” and authorize Iran “to a reciprocal response against these” available options “, tweeted Iranian Secretary General of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Chamkhani. According to a transcript of an excerpt from his speech, Ayatollah Khamenei further estimated that, “behind the scenes of American foreign policy, there is a cruel wolf who sometimes turns into a cunning fox.”

Led by President Ebrahim Raïssi, an ultra-conservative, Iran’s new executive took office on Wednesday after gaining the confidence of Parliament. Ebrahim Raïssi took over at the beginning of August from the moderate Hassan Rohani, main architect, Iranian side, of the 2015 agreement.

Tehran has always denied wanting to acquire atomic weapons

Joe Biden quickly made it known that he wanted to bring Washington back into the fold of the agreement, and discussions began in April between Iranians, Westerners, Russians and Chinese in Vienna to allow this reinstatement. The last session ended on June 20, with representatives of the Iranian government leaving Hassan Rouhani, two days after the presidential election won by Ebrahim Raïssi.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the upper hand over the Iranian nuclear issue, warned in April that the Vienna negotiations “should not drag on” because that would then be “harmful” to Iran’s interests. And in two messages published Wednesday, the evening of his assumption of office, the new Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, made no reference to him to the agreement of 2015, affirming that the countries “neighbors and the ‘Asia’ was the government’s ‘number one priority’ in foreign policy.

Note that Tehran has always denied wanting to acquire atomic weapons.