Leader: If all sanctions lifted, Iran will return to its obligations

Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran will in the first place verify whether the sanctions are lifted in the right way and then return to its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal.

This is the definite policy of the Islamic Republic which all Iranian officials unanimously hold, the Leader said.

The Supreme Leader made the remarks on Sunday when he received a group of Air Force commanders and staff.

The event is held every year on the occasion of the historical meeting of the Islamic Republic Army Air Force personnel with Father of the Islamic Revolution and Founder of the Islamic Republic the late Imam Khomeini on February 8, 1979. The meeting had a significant role in giving new impetus to the Islamic Revolution.

With regards to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event is held with full implementation of health protocols.

Ayatollah Khamenei said that the oath allegiance extended by Iran’s pre-Islamic Revolution Air Force (so-called Homafaran) to Imam Khomeini just 3 days before the victory of the revolution was a significant astonishing move and a main contributing factor in the victory of revolution which proved the US miscalculation.

The Supreme Leader underlined that continuation of the movement of the Revolution requires people's persistent presence at the scene, non-stop work and struggle, union in expression among authorities, belief in the divine promise, and  a surge in the components of national power in action.”

Ayatollah Khamenei described the recent scandalous events in the United States and the collapse of the administration of its former President Donald Trump as a sign of the decline of US credit, power, social and political order.

Mentioning recent remarks by the European and American authorities on US sanctions and the JCPOA, informally known as the Iran deal, he added, “Americans and Europeans have no right to set out conditions because they have violated their obligations under the JCOPA. The Islamic Republic of Iran is the party that can lay down conditions, because of its compliance with commitments.”

 “Iran will come back to compliance with the JCPOA when the US removes all sanctions in action not in words or on the paper. And the sanctions removal will be verified by Iran. This is the definite policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, agreed upon by all authorities; no one would infringe it,” the Supreme Leader underlined.

Iran will come back to compliance with the JCPOA when the US removes all sanctions in practice, not in words or on the paper, the Leader said.

"And this removal of sanctions has to be verified by Iran. This is the definite policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, agreed upon by all authorities; no one would infringe it,” the Supreme Leader underlined.

Iran’s commander-in-chief described the Air Force oath of allegiance to the late Imam Khomeini on February 8, 1979, as one of those days which belongs to Allah, and said “Separation of an important part of [the Shah’s] military and their joining Imam Khomeini and the people was like a miracle; because the Shah’s regime mainly relied on military and SAVAK (its intelligence apparatus) and they finally got blows from where they never imagined.”

Ayatollah Khamenei mentioned the strange miscalculation made by the Democrat government of the US at the time in evaluating the situation in Iran, stating, “Americans were very much hopeful of the royal military and they had planned a coup, according to certain reports, to arrest leaders and pioneers of revolution and prevent the decline of the (Shah) regime by use of widespread violence against people; however, one of the factors that foiled their Satanic plot was the movement by the Air Force on February 8.”

Emphasizing that the US miscalculation of Iran’s situation is still ongoing and they have no truthful understanding of the Iranian nation, the Supreme Leader of Islamic Revolution went on to say, “An example of the miscalculation was seen in 2009 insurrection, when the US Democrat president backed the insurgence, under the illusion that they would finish it up.”

Ayatollah Khamenei named the unprecedented sanctions aiming at subduing Iran among other examples of US miscalculations, articulating, “one of the very number one idiots had said two years ago that they would celebrate 2019 New Year’s Eve in Tehran. That person has now gone to the ash heap of history and his boss has been kicked out of the White House scandalously. But the Islamic Republic of Iran, by the grace of God, is still standing in pride.”

Noting that one should not oversimplify the foes in spite of their faulty calculation system, he said: “There were other factors involved in the victory of Islamic Revolution, which are working and struggle, people’s presence in the scene and their faith in the necessity of this presence, confidence in God’s promise and counter plotting.”

 “No progress would be made by sitting and watching. Authorities should increase national power components and produce power in action by attending the field of working and acting,” the commander-in-chief stressed.

He said that strengthening the armed forces in proportionate to regional and international requirements is a representation of power production, and praising recent military drills he added, “Performing such great and astonishing drills, especially under sanctions, is in fact the provision of national security by the country’s children in the armed forces; and it’s a source of great pride.”

In addition to equipment, producing power in armed forces necessitates maintaining and strengthening spirit of the forces and their faith and spiritual power, the Supreme Leader said.

He also added, “The great mistake made by some countries in the region is that they demand their national security from foreigners. And despite spending billions of dollars and being humiliated insulted, their security is not ensured at difficult moments; as we saw in the events that occurred in Egypt and Tunisia a few years ago, or in the fate of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.”

He also underlined the necessity of preventing domestic mistakes, saying that being intimidated by the foes or being hopeful of them in political and economic issues is a great mistake.

END