The regime used the Tehran Friday Prayer to�put out a tough line to the US, amid the negotiations for a comprehensive nuclear deal.
Hojatoleslam Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani�told Iran�s negotiators, �We (should) have peace with the enemy but not reconciliation�, and continued, �God grant it that the Great Satan will not be successful in deceiving the Iranian delegation.�

Movahedi Kermani targeted the lead US negotiator Wendy Sherman and her supposed remark that Washington and the other 5+1 Powers �can veto whatever we agree on�: �It is because of these remarks that the Supreme Leader is not optimistic towards the negotiations, because the Americans are untrustworthy.�

The cleric chided:
They will let not go of us so long as we are committed to the Revolution. America is the same one that downed our civilian airplane. America is the same that betrays its friends and implements a spy program on them. If we retreat from the nuclear energy, America will have tens of more excuses.
Movahedi Kermani also appeared to maintain the warning to the Rouhani Government not to open up Iran�s cultural sphere:
We must be careful that the enemy does not bring its dangerous culture into this Islamic country. We request all cultural officials, especially the Islamic Culture and Guidance Minister, to make serious efforts in this regard and not take cultural programs lightly.

God forbid that a perverted book receives a permit. The Guidance Minister should be more careful in the matter of film and book permits.
Hardline opponents of President Rouhani, such as the Endurance Front leader Mesbah Yazdi, have been stepping up their attacks in recent weeks. They claim that the Government is trying to open up the Internet and to push back �Islamicization� of universities by re-instituting humanities programs.

In an address on Thursday to the Assembly of Experts, the Supreme Leader appeared to back those challenges when he spoke of his �cultural concerns�.

See�10 Points of Supreme Leader�s Speech to Assembly of Experts

(Hat tip to�Iran Tracker�for translation)



Lead 5+1 Powers� Nuclear Negotiator Ashton in Tehran
The European Union�s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, the lead negotiator for the 5+1 Powers, arrives�in Tehran on Saturday for talks.

Ashton is expected to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday.

The visit follows three days of �expert talks�, concluded Friday in Vienna, on aspects of the nuclear negotiations. No details were issued about the discussions; however, Hamid Baeidinejad, the head of the Iranian delegation, said the talks � covering issues such as Iran�s enrichment of uranium and US-led sanctions on Tehran � were �constructive�.
Lead Iran Nuclear Negotiator Pushes Back Against Domestic Critics
Deputy Foreign Abbas Araqchi, who leads Iran�s nuclear negotiators,�responded to pressure on the Government�� including the Tehran Friday Prayer � with the assertion:
Some confrontations and positioning regarding the nuclear negotiations stem from the political positions of some parties. We must pay attention that the nuclear matter has not been this administration�s achievement, rather it is a �national� matter.
By Ea World View

 

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