Israel Cannot Destroy Iran's Nuclear Program, Former Officials Say - NYT

The Guardian Council, a constitutional watchdog vetting candidates and supervised by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, offered 7 explanations about Ali Larijani’s disqualification, some simply political in nature and others less than substantiated or not representing any legal prohibition.

One reason given by the Council is a vague reference to Larijani past remarks regarding the disputed 2009 election, when millions protested the decision to announce Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner of the presidential race. Conservatives suppressed the protests and called the demonstrators provocateurs. But there is no record of Larijani defending the protesters.

The Council also cited accusations including his son's involvement in dubious contracts with the parliament, some of his relatives' residence in the United Kingdom and the United States which the council described as "belligerent states," frequent visits to foreign countries by Larijani's family members, following a luxurious lifestyle, and sharing responsibility for the undesirable situation of the country.

The letters were exchanged by Larijani and the Guardian Council in September, but they were released by the press on Saturday.

The Council also disqualified other strong candidates in what the many saw was a blatant attempt to ensure a win for Ebrahim Raisi, the current president.

Earlier, Larijani had repeatedly called on the Council to let the public know why he was barred from running, but the council replied that it would not be in Larijani's interest.

Following the disqualification, his brother Sadeq Larijani who was a member of the Guardian Council, protested the decision and charged that it was based on wrong information given to the council by IRGC's intelligence organization.

Later Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called on the Guardian Council "to make up for its unfair treatment" without actually mentioning Ali Larijani.

Meanwhile, Ali Larijani wrote a strongly worded reply to the Council's Secretary, hardline cleric and politician Ahmad Jannati explaining that one of his children lives in the United States where he or she is studying, and this is different from frequent visits.

He also asked the Council whether the family members of "qualified" candidates have not been visiting foreign countries frequently.

Larijani also said he has asked the Judiciary Chief to launch an investigation into his son's involvement in construction contracts with the parliament. He further explained that he has always been living in his grandfather's luxurious home in north Tehran since 1977.

Responding to the charges of "sharing responsibility for the undesirable situation of the country" Larijani asked if the Guardian Council believed Khamenei was also responsible for that when he was Iran's President in the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, he did not mention Khamenei's responsibility as the Islamic Republic's leader during the past 30 years.

Larijani concluded: "Just say that you wanted to get rid of me," and questioned the Council's competency to make such judgements.

Iranian analysts Mehdi Mahdavi Azad and Jamshid Barzegar told Iranian International Television on Saturday that both Jannati and Larijani know the real reason why he was disqualified. The true reason for the whole episode is that Ali Khamenei decided to purge some of the individuals in his inner circle. He got rid of Larijani in the same way he got rid of former Presidents Akbar Rafsanjani and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said Mahdavi Azad.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russian ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the official Tass news agency there was no clarity over the date but that his discussion with Robert Malley, the United States special envoy on Iran, “seems to be productive.”

"The pragmatic cooperation between our delegations in the course of the Vienna Talks is very important,” Ulyanov tweeted Friday after meeting with Malley. In his recent tweets Ulyanov has highlighted his contacts with Malley, and the Russian ambassador told Tass Friday he was “quite satisfied with the quality of our cooperation.”

Ulyanov said that both the US and Russia wanted to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and to lift “the US sanctions imposed under the Donald Trump administration.” Ulyanov said this was “the basis we can build cooperation on.”

But Jake Sullivan, the US National Security Advisor. said Friday the talks in Vienna were “not going well,” and that Washington had communicated its “alarm” through the Europeans over Iran’s expanding nuclear program.

As the US withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 and imposed ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions on Iran, Washington takes part only indirectly in Iran’s Vienna talks with remaining JCPOA signatories – China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom.

Ulyanov noted that lack of direct communication between the US and Iran in an interview with Iran International in Vienna December 12 and said the main responsibility for mediation lay with the European Union, whose senior official Enrique Mora chairs the talks.

On December 15, Ulyanov tweeted about a meeting of Russia, China, and the US on the sidelines of the talks. "As you can see [in the photo,] Russians sit together with Americans. But it has no political implications," he wrote. Ulyanov held a separate meeting with Malleythe same day.

Russia has long argued that the US should lift ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions and that Iran should scale back the aspects of its nuclear program, expanded since 2019, that contravene the JCPOA.

Ulyanov told Tass Friday the Russian delegation in Vienna was “ready to work without breaks.” He said there were two options for continuing talks: “either to resume the work on December 27, at least the expert level within the framework of the eighth round, or on January 3, when everyone is ready...”

The European troika – France, Germany, and Britain – said Friday Iran had asked for the new halt in the talks. The lead Iranian negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani told the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) Saturday that it has been agreed in advance that a break would be taken once “a draft of the agreement was made.”

Bagheri-Kani told reporters in Vienna Friday evening that the next round of talks could be the last: “We can reach an agreement in the shortest possible time.”

The Associated Press reported earlier this week that evidence points to Iran preparing a space launch and Iranian media offered a list of upcoming planned satellite launched.

In his first press conference, communication minister Issa Zarepour said that Iran’s space program was put on the backburner during former president Hassan Rouhani’s eight-year administration (2013-2021), but now its budget has increased. He added that the country needs a ten-year plan to expand its satellite program to put vehicles at a higher orbit.

Currently, Iran can reach 500 kilometers into space, which is considered a lower orbit. President Hassan Rouhani ordered officials to aim for the 36,000-kilometer orbit and increased the space program budget up to 12 times.

Foreign observers and governments have charged that Iran's space program is a cover to justify its testing of ballistic missiles. Israel and the United States have said that Iran's space program is against a UN resolution banning Iranian missiles with nuclear weapons capability.

In his Friday Sermon in Mashhad on Friday, Ahmad Alamolhoda, who is a stauch supporter of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, accused some of the media in Iran of taking advantage of “freedom of expression”, aiding the enemies of the Islamic Republic, and trying to obstruct the propagation of Islam.

Meanwhile he called on Iranian journalists to propagate Shiite Islam following orders by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Elsewhere in his speech, Alamolhoda said that "The enemies are using their media arsenal to advocate ignorance and to create chaos that would pave the way for their onslaught."

Alamolhoda said the media are trying to distort reality and while it was the West that withdrew form [the nuclear] deal with Iran, the media affiliated with the enemies are trying to portray the case in a way that would lead to the condemnation of Iran." He added that those who echo the enemy's statements in the press and social media are infiltrators who should be put on trial as the enemy's fifth column."

Iran’s hardliners often regard most criticism about domestic and foreign affairs, as well as defense of social and political rights as incendiary, although media in Iran is tightly controlled and hundreds of journalists have been jailed throughout the 43-year existence of the clerical regime.

Meanwhile, Iran’s state TV and Tasnim news agency were forces to slam another cleric and a member of parliament who tried to deny his controversial remarks that Iranians who do not like Islamic restrictions should leave the country.

The cleric, Seyyed Kazem Mousavi later claimed that he never made those comments, and they were fabrications by the media. However, as a tape containing his remarks was leaked on social media, the state television and Tasnim harshly criticized the cleric for portraying Islam as a fundamentalist religion that cannot tolerate modern lifestyle.

A commentator at the state TV lashed out at Mousavi and said" "Who are you to decide about whether people are or are not allowed to live in Iran. This is everybody's home, and they should live here as they like."

According to Aftab News, a moderate conservative website in Iran, Mousavi still owes an apology to Iranian journalists, adding that it is becoming a common practice among Iranian officials to attribute their own comments to the media as soon as they realize what they have said was controversial and counterproductive. "This undermines conservative politician's ethical values and is not a practice consistent with religious ethics by any standard."

The website reminded Mousavi that exposing the hypocritical behavior of politicians is one of the reasons why media exist. The website added that it was easy in the past for politicians like Mousavi to deny what they have actually said or done, and it was difficult for reporters to tell the truth to the public. But nowadays, journalists can always publish a recording of the politician's statement on social media to prove their case.

However, Aftab News added that still, some politicians try to get away with the consequences of their controversial statements or behavior claiming that they made the comment during an off-the-recordprivate conversation.

To provide an example, Aftab New shied away from quoting politicians, and brought an example about an Iranian filmmaker who called film critics idiots during a conversation with several journalist. He even insisted that reporters may quote him on that. However, when his comment became controversial, he criticized several reporters for having fabricated the comment. The website reminded that "Actual quotations remain for a long time while denials are short-lived."

A senior Biden administration official told reporters on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity, did not have a precise time for the breakout, which has been estimated to be a matter of months.

"But it's really short. It is unacceptably short," the official said, calling it "alarming".

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said later that the nuclear talks are "not going well" and US has communicated to Iran through Europeans its "alarm" over Iran's expanding nuclear program.

The official said Andrea Gacki, the Treasury Department's director of foreign asset control, was in the United Arab Emirates earlier this week urging private companies not to evade sanctions against Iran.

"If you are evading sanctions, the U.S. will have its eye very much on you. There will be consequences," the official said.

Iran last month said it has stockpiled well over 200 kilograms of 20-percent and 60-percent enriched uranium, and continues purification of the fissile material. Ninety-percent enrichment is needed to use the material for producing a bomb, but the step from 60-percent enrichment to usable grade is relatively short.

With reporting by Reuters