Six months into the implementation of the comprehensive deal between Iran and six world powers that curtailed the country’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on Iran's nuclear program, has criticized the United States for its implementation of the deal and the lack of benefits for the Iranian public.
During an Aug. 1 speech, Khamenei said that even Iran’s nuclear negotiators have conceded that the United States has made "bad pacts," created obstacles and attempted to “destroy Iran’s economic relationships with other countries.” The obstacles Khamenei referred to are likely the remaining US banking sanctions unrelated to nuclear sanctions that have made European companies hesitant to fully establish economic relations with Iran. Iranian negotiators had previously said that the United States wanted more concessions to remove the banking sanctions.