Ayatollah says US distorting Iran nuclear deal

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, accused the US on Thursday of distorting the nuclear framework agreed with the world powers in his first reaction to the landmark agreement.

Washington's fact sheet about the framework, agreed after months of negotiations, was "mostly against reality" and contained a "narrative . . . [that] is distorted . . . to save face", he charged.

Taking issue with two of Washington's core principles in the talks, Ayatollah Khamenei said sanctions against Iran should be lifted "on the first day" of a final agreement, and added that international inspectors would not be allowed to visit Iranian military sites.

Although he claimed to be "100 per cent" supportive of the nuclear accord if it resulted in immediate removal of all sanctions and did not authorise any supervision over military sites, the ayatollah failed to give his full support to the framework that Tehran agreed with six big world powers - the US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany - to limit its nuclear activities in return for removal of many sanctions.

"I neither oppose nor agree with it [the agreement]," he said during a speech on Thursday. He added that "congratulations are meaningless" when "there is nothing binding yet" and "there is still no guarantee of reaching the finishing line".

The ayatollah's comments may be a tactical move to maintain Iran's bargaining power over details to be worked out by the end of June - the deadline to reach a final comprehensive accord, but they are a sign of how difficult it will be to achieve a final agreement in under three months. They will also make it harder for the Obama administration to convince the US Congress that the talks are making considerable progress.

"All problems are from now on," he said. "The other side [the US] - which is used to violating commitments, is stubborn and has a record of stabbing [Iran] in the back - may try to surround the Iranian nation and negotiators over details."

The US has been insistent that sanctions will be lifted only once Iran has fulfilled its commitments under any final deal. In an interview at the weekend, President Barack Obama said that "the basic framework calls for Iran to take the steps that it needs to around Fordow, the centrifuges and so forth. At that point, then the UN sanctions are suspended."

Mr Obama also said that the inspections' regime would cover "the entire nuclear chain" in Iran and that officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency would be able to "go any place".

The US fact sheet released shortly after the announcement also specified that sanctions relief was partly dependent on Iran addressing concerns about military aspects of its nuclear programme, which would be likely to require visits to certain sensitive sites.

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However, the supreme leader insisted that "sanctions should be completely lifted on the first day of the agreement, otherwise why would we have been negotiating?

"Also, under no conditions . . . authorities should give permission for aliens to have access to our defence and security spheres." < >

Iran's senior politicians and military figures have supported the nuclear agreement. But the negotiating team, led by Mohammad Javad Zarif, foreign minister, is coming under mounting domestic pressure to disclose details, in particular on when and how sanctions will be lifted.

Hassan Rouhani, the centrist president, reiterated on Thursday that his team would not sign any agreement which would not lead to lifting of sanctions.

He has repeatedly said sanctions will stop "on the first day of implementation of the agreement", but has not differentiated ceasing to implement sanctions and lifting them, which may take longer than many Iranians hope.

Some Iranian MPs have called on Mr Zarif to release an Iranian fact sheet of the framework that lists Iran's successes in the negotiations to counter the US version, which lists the Islamic regime's concessions.

Ayatollah Khamenei has urged Iran's negotiating team to make more details of the talks public and added that if an accord were achieved and the US remained committed, Iran could "use the experience" and negotiate with Washington over other differences - a rare indication that Iran could co-operate with its arch-enemy - presumably in the region. But he cautioned that "for now" the focus was only on the nuclear programme.

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