Lift all sanctions or no deal: Iran’s ayatollah

TEHRAN • Iran’s supreme leader declared Thursday that all economic sanctions would have to be lifted on the day any nuclear agreement is signed — something that has not been agreed on — and that military sites would be strictly off limits to foreign inspectors.

“No way, we should not allow them to infiltrate security and defensive installations,” said the leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

He also expressed strong and rare criticism toward Iran’s regional competitor, Saudi Arabia, calling the new leaders in Riyadh “inexperienced youngsters” who were highlighting the country’s “barbarous features.”

Khamenei’s assertions pointed up once again how many difficult issues remain to be negotiated before June 30, the deadline for completing a deal with the United States and other world powers meant to guarantee that Iran will not make nuclear weapons.

His assertions also showed how regional rivalries can pose a threat to the negotiations, even as diplomats try to keep the issues on separate tracks.

The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, who spoke at a different event Thursday, echoed the supreme leader’s remarks but with a potentially crucial difference, saying the sanctions have to be lifted on the day a deal is put in place, potentially months after a signed agreement.

“We will not sign any agreement, unless all economic sanctions are totally lifted on the first day of the implementation of the deal,” Rouhani said.

The ayatollah’s comments — while perhaps intended to give both the negotiators and himself some political space to get hardliners and others slowly accustomed to the framework of a deal — pose some significant potential challenges to Secretary of State John Kerry and his negotiating team.

Kerry and President Barack Obama have been clear that sanctions would be suspended in phases, as Iran complies with its obligations. That is critical to U.S. leverage in en- suring Iran follows through on its commitments to vastly reduce its uranium stockpile — a process that will take months, if not longer — and decommissions centrifuges, placing them in storage.

Iran and the six world powers agreed last week in Switzerland on a framework deal meant to curb Iran’s bomb-capable technology while giving Tehran quick access to bank accounts, oil markets and financial assets blocked by international sanctions.

But the framework deal does not include the immediate lifting of punitive sanctions imposed on Iran. Instead, it says the sanctions will be suspended once international monitors verify that Tehran is abiding by the limitations spelled out in the agreement.

The deal also specifies that if at any time Iran fails to fulfil its commitments, these sanctions would snap back into place.

The framework agreement has received endorsement by much of the Iranian establishment, though hardliners have overwhelmingly opposed it and described the deal as a “defeat” for Iran.

Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, added that there “is no binding” agreement yet.

The top leader also cautioned that the six world powers — five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany — are “not to be trusted” and may try “to limit Iran.” A lot remains to be done until the deal is finalized, Khamenei said, adding it may take more than three months.

We should not allow them to infiltrate security installations