December 3, 2014 | Policy Brief

Khamenei’s Speech After the JPOA Extension

December 3, 2014 | Policy Brief

Khamenei’s Speech After the JPOA Extension

Addressing high ranking members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Basij on Nov. 27, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei expressed a few words of support for Iranian nuclear negotiators, and stressed: “I’m not opposed to extending the negotiations [by seven months with the P5+1], just as I did not oppose the very principle of negotiating.” 

The rest of the ayatollah’s speech, however, was filled with vitriol toward the West. The “Global Arrogance,” Khamenei claimed, is trying to erode the dignity of the Iranian nation. He claimed that “the Americans are the most immoral, and the British the most insidious” among the 5+1 Group members, adding that Iran does not need to gain the trust of the United States, and “our people do not trust them.” Should a comprehensive agreement not be achieved, he asserted, the United States would lose most, and it “would not be the end of the world.”

Khamenei added that U.S. “concern” for Israel’s security is solely based on the machinations of a “network of Zionist capitalists … without whose economic bribes and support … no one can reach to high office in the United States.”

Despite all of this, Khamenei concluded his diatribe by giving a nod to continued negotiations: “If they have a reasonable word, we don’t mind. We accept reasonable words and accept reasonable deals.”

But his speech raises troubling questions.  Why bother negotiating with the United States if there is no mutual trust? If Khamenei genuinely believes that “immoral” U.S. decision-makers are at the whim of “Zionist capitalists,” how can he expect them to arrive at a deal that Khamenei finds “reasonable”?

The Iranian leader is likely content with continued discussions primarily because the regime’s overall bargaining position vis-a-vis the United States has improved in the past 12 months. The West has been focused on a so-far futile attempt to find a technical fix to the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear weapons program and has ignored the Iranian regime’s oppression of domestic dissidents and its continued support of the brutal Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. Meanwhile, the emergence of the Islamic State has allowed Iran to position itself as a partner in the fight against radicalism in the region. So, although little progress has been made on the nuclear file, the United States seems willing to play Tehran’s game of eternal negotiations. This gives Khamenei leverage. This is the reason for his contentment —  and his contempt. 

Ali Alfoneh is a senior fellow at Foundation for Defense of Democracies

Issues:

Iran Iran Sanctions