DUBAI: The United States said yesterday it was disturbed by anti-US hostility voiced by Iran’s top leader after a nuclear deal, as both countries’ top diplomats sought to calm opposition to the accord from hardliners at home.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said a speech by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday vowing to defy American policies in the region despite a deal with world powers over Tehran’s nuclear programme was “very troubling”.
“I don’t know how to interpret it at this point in time, except to take it at face value, that that’s his policy,” he said in the interview with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television.
“But I do know that often comments are made publicly and things can evolve that are different. If it is the policy, it’s very disturbing, it’s very troubling,” he added.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest authority in Iran, told supporters on Saturday that US policies in the region were “180 degrees” opposed to Iran’s, in a Tehran speech punctuated by chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”.
Under the accord reached in Vienna last week, Iran will be subjected to long-term curbs on its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of US, European Union and UN sanctions. The deal was signed by the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.
It was a major policy achievement for both US President Barack Obama and Iran’s pragmatic elected President Hassan Rowhani. But both leaders have to sell it at home to powerful hardliners in countries that have been enemies for decades, referring to each other as the “Great Satan” and a member of the “Axis of Evil”.
In the case of Iran, the deal must win final acceptance from the National Security Council and ultimately Khamenei, who has so far withheld final judgement, thanking the negotiators while saying the text must still be scrutinised and approved.
In the United States, Republicans who control Congress have lined up against the deal, but Obama says he will veto any attempt to block it.
Kerry also has the task of selling the agreement to sceptical US allies in the region. Israel is implacably opposed, and Arab allies of the United States such as Saudi Arabia are suspicious of an arrangement that would benefit their Shia, non-Arab rival Iran, which they accuse of fomenting sectarian conflict.
Dore Gold, director-general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, described Israel’s opposition to the accord as a “major disagreement” with Washington over “a central pillar of foreign policy”, but nonetheless sought to play down the rift with Israel’s closest ally.
“All you can do in these situations is just tell your story, tell the truth,” he said, adding that the rift should be handled “in a very careful way” and with “mutual respect”.
Mohammad Javad Zarif, the foreign minister who developed a warm rapport with Kerry during weeks of unprecedented face-to-face talks, defended the deal in Iran’s hardliner-dominated parliament. He said most of Iran’s conditions had been met, including so-called “red lines” set by Khamenei.
“We don’t say the deal is totally in favour of Iran. Any negotiation is a give and take. We have definitely shown some flexibility,” the foreign
minister said.
REUTERS
