Iran's Khamenei slams Rouhani for being 'too open' toward West
"The West is not obligated to the deal that some of our leaders signed on to," Khamenei said at a reception for Iran's new Navy officers on Sunday.
By YASSER OKBI/ MAARIV HASHAVUAUpdated: NOVEMBER 29, 2016 15:16Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani(photo credit: AFP PHOTO)
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has criticized the country's President Hassan Rouhani for his "open dialogue" policy with the West in light of the nuclear deal signed by Tehran and world powers."The West is not obligated to the deal that some of our leaders signed on to," Khamenei said at a reception for Iran's new Navy officers on Sunday.The supreme leader offered severe criticism of the recent US Congressional decision to extend sanctions on Iran by 10 years.Iran Foreign Minister Zarif hopes nuclear deal is kept once the dust settlesKhamenei called for "revenge" against a US House of Representatives vote earlier in the month in favor of extending the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) against Tehran."Even though there were ongoing negotiations about removing the sanctions, the American Congress extended them under the assertion that it was just extending a previous decision and that it is nothing new," Khamenei said Sunday."In my opinion, there is no difference between new sanctions and extending the old sanctions," he added.To become law, the bill has still to be endorsed by the Senate and to be signed by the US president. The ISA was first adopted in 1996 to sanction Iran over its controversial nuclear program.Following the House vote, Khamenei said that if the US renews the sanctions, the Islamic republic will "definitely" react. If the 10-year sanctions extension are implemented, it will constitute a violation with regard to the nuclear agreement, said Khamenei.Iran and the six world powers, namely Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany, reached a nuclear deal in July 2015 to end the disputes over the country's controversial nuclear program.The deal, which went into effect in January, requires Iran to scrap the bulk of its nuclear activities in return for the ease of international sanctions on the country's energy and financial sectors. It allows regular inspections of the facilities inside Iran.