Ayatollah Khamenei Rejects Future Inspections
June 1, 2015 by Dr. Majid Rafizadeh
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks live on television after casting his ballot in the Iranian presidential election in TehranThe Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader and theocrat, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in domestic and foreign policy issues of Iran, delivered a commencement speech recently to the graduates of the Imam Hussein Military University in Tehran.
He drew on the topic of nuclear negotiations between the six world powers (known as the P5+1; the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, and China), primarily lashing out at the United States and its demands.
On the other hand, the Obama administration has pitched and sold us a nuclear deal using a different narrative arguing that Iran’s nuclear sites, which are suspected to have military dimensions, will be thoroughly and frequently inspected by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors.
This is Obama’s own narrative, or at least what he has chosen to sell to the public.
On the other hand, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei clearly pointed out in his recent speech that “[r]egarding inspections, we have said that we will not let foreigners inspect any military center.”
So, Iran’s paramount leader, a person whose approval is needed for a final nuclear deal, is clearly announcing to President Obama and the world that he will not allowed anyone to enter the Islamic Republic and inspect his country’s military sites.
The crucial question is where are President Obama’s comments on this critical statement of Iran’s Supreme Leader? Rationally speaking, Obama is supposed to address these statements from Iran’s top leader, which contradict his promises and the narrative of the nuclear deal.
But, President Obama is silent.
It appears that from President Obama’s perspective, what Iran’s paramount leader is clearly articulating is not really crucial. For President Obama, the nuclear deal is already a done agreement. In other words, he will accept the demands of the Iranian leaders, and he will have his name on the nuclear deal.
When it comes to the American people, President Obama will pitch a different story than what the reality and terms of the deal truly are. He will not draw on the fact that Iran’s Supreme Leaders is not going to allow IAEA inspectors to investigate and monitor Iran’s nuclear activities.
He will tell the American people that everything with regards to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Iran’s regional hegemonic ambitions, and Iran’s behavior are resolved.
He will argue that Iran’s nuclear threat has been eliminated, thanks to his efforts. He will argue that Iran is going to comply with all the terms of the deal. And after that, Obama will claim Iran deserves to have the sanctions lifted against it.
In another statement, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated on his official website that “[t]hey say the right to interview nuclear scientists must be given….This means interrogation. I will not let foreigners come and talk to scientists and dear children of the nation who have developed this science up to this level.”
President Obama has chosen to be silent about this crucial matter as well.
The Supreme Leader has also reasserted the Islamic Republic’s interventionist policies in the region, reconfirmed Iran’s unwillingness to change its behavior and instigate chaos in the Middle East and other Arab countries.
The Ayatollah stated, “I have some news that enemies in cooperation with some stupid officials in the region intend to bring proxy wars close to the borders of Iran,” and he added, “They should know that if they cause mischief, Iran’s reaction will be very harsh.”
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Quds Force, which operate on the behest of the Supreme Leader, continue to arm Shiite militia groups in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon. They continue to sponsor terrorism and express their clear anti-Semitic and anti-American propaganda.
President Obama has chosen to ignore these critical developments. The White House has decided to ignore what Ayatollah Khamenei is stating, and it has chosen to view the nuclear deal as a done deal.
Nevertheless, President Obama did make one comment when he was recently interviewed, defending the Islamic Republic. In his interview, he projected the Islamic Republic as a rational actor. Referring to Iran’s Supreme Leader, he pointed out that the “fact that you are anti-Semitic, or racist, doesn’t preclude you from being interested in survival… and so the fact that the supreme leader is anti-Semitic doesn’t mean that this overrides all of his other considerations.”
So, now instead of criticizing the ayatollah, President Obama is defending him as a rational political figure. Yet, President Obama did have some criticism to express. Not for Iran, but for Israel. instead of criticizing the Supreme Leader or addressing the ayatollah’s comments regarding IAEA inspections, President Obama has chosen to criticize Israel, and primarily Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He pointed out that Netanyahu’s message regarding Arab voters was “contrary to the very language of the Israeli Declaration of Independence” and warned of “foreign policy consequences.”
“I want Israel, in the same way that I want the United States, to embody … what I believe are human or universal values that have led to progress over a millennium….The same values that led to the end of Jim Crow and slavery. The same values that led to Nelson Mandela being freed and a multiracial democracy emerging in South Africa.”
While President Obama seems proficient at preaching and criticizing Israel’s prime minister, Netanyahu and Israel’s values, he has chosen to totally be silent about the anti-Semitic statements issued recently by Ayatollah Khamenei and the Ayatollah’s remarks regarding foreign inspections. These are the real issues that President Obama needs to address.
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