What are Iran's conservatives saying about the nuclear deal?
Iran's conservatives are warning that a nuclear deal with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany will not necessarily lead to better relations with the United States.
The announcement of a nuclear deal between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) has been welcomed by most Iranians and Reformist media. The prospect of sanctions relief has overjoyed many Iranians who have sensed the crushing impact of sanctions. But the nuclear concessions Iran made in exchange for those sanctions relief has some Iranian conservatives worried on non-nuclear related issues.
The problem for many conservatives is that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on the nuclear program, has generally supported the deal. In his only response, through an open letter thanking the president and his negotiation team for their efforts, Khamenei wrote that the deal was “an important step.” However, he also warned that the text of the agreement “should be considered carefully” and “once ratified, be careful of possible violations of the opposing side.” He added, “You know well that some of the six opposing governments cannot be trusted.”
Khamenei’s position and the generally accepted idea that Iran needs to show a united front in the nuclear talks has muted some of the harsher criticism of a nuclear deal. Still, a close look at the more hard-line media shows that there is still some criticism of the deal.
Mojtaba Asghari wrote an article in Vatan-e Emrooz arguing that “Iran, despite all of the efforts of the Westerners, is not on the threshold of collapsing from within, but we do not have a doubt that underneath the bowl of a final agreement there is a half non-nuclear bowl.” The article warned that a “war of civilizations” still exists and that Iranians must “tighten their belts of faith.”
