Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei endorsed the nuclear deal reached with world powers and ordered its completion for the first time Wednesday, but he warned the Iranian president that he must remain vigilant because the U.S. cannot be trusted, as it is still "backing internal conspiracies," reported The Associated Press.
Khamenei, who has the final say on all major state matters, said that the U.S. should clearly announce the end of crippling international economic sanctions currently imposed on Tehran.
"Throughout the 8-year term, imposition of any sanctions at any level and under any pretext (including repetitive and fabricated excuses like terrorism and human rights) from any of the negotiating countries, will be considered as violation" of the nuclear agreement and will allow Iran to "take necessary measures to cease the deal's implementation, Khamenei said on his Twitter account.
He said that he directed the country's top security committee, the Supreme National Security Council, to implement the nuclear agreement but stressed that the deal "suffers from multiple structural weaknesses and ambiguous points" and must be "tightly controlled" and monitored "to prevent significant damage" to Iran's future, reported Al Jazeera.
It is the first time Khamenei has publicly backed the accord. Until now, he declined to publicly endorse or reject the deal, though he did express support for Iran's negotiators, according to AFP.
The agreement with the U.S., Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany would curb Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for the removal of a number of international economic sanctions on Iran that have crippled its economy. The West has long suspected Iran of using its civilian nuclear program to hide its pursuit of nuclear weapons, though Tehran insists that its program is entirely peaceful.
Khamenei also said that Iran will not relinquish its uranium stockpile until the United Nations nuclear watchdog closes its investigation into whether the country was once pursuing nuclear weapons, reported The Independent.
Khamenei added that his support comes despite "hostility and trouble" from the U.S., which makes "any change in the future" unlikely.
Neither in nuclear issue, nor in any other cases, has US taken any position except hostility & trouble; any change in future is unlikely.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) October 21, 2015
Khamenei claimed that U.S. President Barack Obama had promised that the U.S. had no intention of ousting Iran's leadership, but he said Obama lied and is still "backing internal conspiracies."
POTUS claims in his 2 letters to me that he is not after regime change in Iran soon proved as a lie with him backing internal conspiracies.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) October 21, 2015
US deceptive involvement in nuclear talks has been intended to advance their hostile policies towards Iran. pic.twitter.com/YVXMot3cL7
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) October 21, 2015
Removal of sanctions is necessary as removal of oppression and preservation of Iranians' rights, but... pic.twitter.com/rPGPhTwYVR
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) October 21, 2015
Obama signed an order Sunday directing his administration to start issuing waivers to lift the sanctions once Iran curbs its nuclear program as required by the deal.
"Today marks an important milestone toward preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and ensuring its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful going forward," Obama said in a White House statement, reported Reuters.
Several top U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity said that it will likely be at least two months before sanctions can be lifted.
