Now that the U.S. has begun implementing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and the Iranian parliament has voted in favor of it, Iran’s supreme leader has finally given his opinion. As Michael Rubin writes, it is something short of an endorsement:
[I]n an open letter to President Hassan Rouhani, Khamenei effectively has declared he will accept the agreement so long as the United States accepts his interpretations. He has put many of Iran’s commitments with regard to the plutonium-producing Arak heavy-water reactor and the depletion of Iran’s uranium stock on hold until the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) certifies that concerns regarding the possible military dimensions of Iran’s programs have been sufficiently addressed. In effect, unless Iran gets a satisfactory ruling that it has cooperated fully and resolved [any outstanding] issues, it simply will continue business as usual (all the while receiving sanctions relief and its unfrozen assets as if it were cooperating).
In addition, Khamenei has demanded that Iran will not suffer any new sanctions, regardless of what behavior it might engage in. . . . If President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry accede to Khamenei’s interpretation, they will in effect be granting him immunity from any accountability if, for example, he openly conducts terrorism against civilians, anywhere on earth. . . . If he decides, for example, that Iran’s remaining Bahai should be imprisoned or put to death, he expects to pay no penalty.
More about: Ali Khamenei, Baha'i, Iran nuclear program, John Kerry, Politics & Current Affairs, U.S. Foreign policy