Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei approved of the U.S.-led nuclear agreement on Wednesday, but offered sharp criticism of the Western power.
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The endorsement was included in a letter addressed to President Hassan Rouhani that included accusations against the United States, Iran’s longtime enemy, and that pointed out several ambiguities in the deal, state television reported.
“The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran will observe all mandates and considerations ordered by Your Excellency and in ratifications of Parliament and Supreme National Security Council in full implementation of JCPOA with good intentions”.
He said that it must be “tightly controlled” and monitored, in order “to prevent significant damage”.
Towards the end of the letter, Khamenei advised Rouhani to be careful, once sanctions are lifted, to avoid an influx of American imports.
The Iranian designed and built precision-guided, long-range missile, is called the Emad (Pillar) surface-to-surface missile.
Iran insists it does not seek nuclear arms but demands the ability to enrich uranium to make nuclear fuel for energy-producing reactors and medical applications. Khamenei does not expect the nuclear deal will to thaw historically chilly relations between Tehran and America.
Iran also flouted the current worldwide embargo on its missile program when it tested a ballistic missile last weekend.
A 2010 Security Council resolution, which ceases to have effect after the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers is fully implemented, prohibits Iran from pursuing any activity related to ballistic missiles that could be equipped with a nuclear warheads.
At the same time, the United States and the European Union took formal legal steps on Sunday that will rescind sanctions once Iran meets certain conditions such as reducing the number of centrifuges used to enrich uranium, and its enriched-uranium stockpile. The Obama administration acknowledged the US has “strong indications” that Iran violated United Nations Security Council resolutions with its ballistic missile test over the weekend.
The Democratic senators, however, said the ability to enforce the nuclear deal “must be fortified by a zero-tolerance policy to respond to violations of the agreement and of applicable United Nations resolutions”.
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The global Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) finished collecting samples from Iran’s military sites earlier this month and is expected to announce its conclusions on the PMD issue by December. 15.
