Arash Aramesh

At Tehran’s Friday prayer May 21, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, secretary of the powerful Guardian Council, said the declaration signed Monday May 17 with Turkey and Brazil was a “strong punch in America’s mouth.” He claimed the trilateral declaration “created a diplomatic dead-end for the West and they have nothing to say now.”

According to Fars news, a semi-official news agency with close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Jannati said, “In the past few months, a number of good things were done. Good job to those behind these efforts! One of these good things was the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty conference during which the world saw that it was us that pushed for disarmament and not the Americans.”

He added, “God may reward Dr. Ahmadinejad for his speech in New York about the NPT. His speech surprised everyone and this was a winning card in Iran’s hands.”

Regarding the content of the deal Jannati said, “One of the articles in the declaration asserts that no one shall oppose this deal and no threats must be made [against Iran].” Iran has been saying that it would withdraw from this deal should the UN Security Council pass an anti-Iranian resolution pushing for sanctions.

Friday prayer leaders are appointed by the Supreme Leader and they usually voice the opinions of Iran’s highest political office. Jannati, a close ally of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ali Khamenei, voiced strong support for the nuclear deal signed last Monday, a good indicator that at least so far, Khamenei has not opposed the uranium exchange deal.

Last October, when President Ahmadinejad seemed to be in favor of a similar deal, surrogates of Ayatollah Khamenei appeared in the media and undermined Ahmadinejad’s efforts. Since then, and until just a few weeks ago, the official rhetoric of those close to Khamenei, such as his senior advisor Ali-Akbar Velayati, was unanimous opposition to any exchange deal that would take place outside Iran. But so far, Khamenei and his surrogates have not said anything to undermine the deal.

But pressure from other conservatives against the deal is gaining some momentum. Senior conservative figures, such as deputy parliamentarian Ahmad Tavakkoli, came out against the deal from the very beginning. Jomhuri Eslami, a prominent conservative newspaper, announced its opposition to the deal in its May 18 editorial and said the deal was nothing but Iran backing down on principles.

Khamenei’s support for this trilateral declaration will depend on the degree of resistance to the deal from conservatives and hardliners. And, if he believes the deal immunes Iran from criticism that it is not complying with the international community’s demands for more transparency regarding its nuclear program, this might be an incentive for Iran to go through with the deal, even if further UN sanctions are imposed.