The history of the Iranian nuclear program dates back to the 1950’s and the regime of the Shah during which the U.S. helped the country developing a civilian nuclear program. In 1970, Iran signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. After the Islamic Revolution in 1979 Iran nuclear program stopped. Indeed, Ayatollah Khomeini, first Supreme Leader of Iran, considered nuclear weapons to be “forbidden by Islamic ethics”(Eneyo). Nevertheless, during the Iran-Irak war (1980-1988) Khomeini changed his mind in favor of an Iranian nuclear program.
Khamenei’s deeds are marked by the legacy of his predecessor Khomeini and by the Iran-Irak war. Indeed, he showed his desire to perpetuate the legacy of the Islamic Revolution and he also repetitively claimed that Iran sees nuclear weapons as evil. Therefore, in 2003, he publicly said that a fatwa against nuclear weapons has been issued and, in 2012, he made a speech in favor of a “Middle East free from nuclear weapons”. Since the war against Saddam Hussein, Iran is well aware of its vulnerability and of the necessity to have the means to defend itself and to be independent. That is why Khamenei insists that Iran has to become a power based on the unity of Muslims as well as the technological and religious progress (pishraft) reached by its citizens, especially its youth. In 2005, it had been made clear that the desire of making Iran a real power overcame the previous hesitation about nuclear power and this topic became even more present in Khamenei’s speeches. This shift occurred when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-2013) was elected. He was a conservative who shared Khamenei’s view on Iran, its future, and its diplomacy toward the U.S.
Referring to the Iran-Irak war Khamenei said: “Today, our military forces are thankfully ten times better, no a hundred times better, than those days.”
(“About JCPOA, the Other Side’s Actions Matter, Not Their Promises”)
Looking at the timeline of the Iranian nuclear issue, it is undeniable that the Supreme Leader makes sure that the Iranian presidents and negotiation teams always follow its will and that he himself has the last word. During the time of negotiations, Khamenei is used to give powerful speeches in order to make sure Iran never appears in a position of defendant. For example, looking at its recurrent phrases, the claiming of Iran’s right to pursue its nuclear program is ubiquitous. Khamenei insists on the fact that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful because it is only related to nuclear fuel and because it aims to participate to Iran’s progress. Therefore, among the eleven red lines that he gave before the negotiations with the U.S. in 2013, Khamenei said that Iran will not accept to cease its nuclear research and development. These red lines remind the world that, as Supreme Leader, Khamenei was the one taking decisions. Furthermore, when an Iranian President matches Khamenei’s will, the Supreme Leader seemed to stay in the background of the scene just like he did when President Ahmadinejad decided to reinforce the nuclear capabilities of the country.
“the Great Satan that is the government of America” (Khamenei’s speech August 19, 2007)
Concerning the U.S, ayatollah Khamenei always depicts the country as a threat whose goal is to overthrow Iran’s regime and to establish its influence over the Iranian society. That is why the Supreme Leader affirms its Revolutionary diplomacy. This strategy aims to always defend the principles of the Islamic Revolution. Thus, Khamenei didn’t like the “Open door” policy of President Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005) as well as Rahim Mashaei, Ahmadinejad’s top adviser, who considered that nationalism was more important than Islamism. Nonetheless, even if Khamenei’s desire of leading a country that can be independent has been made clear, he has not always been opposed to negotiations. The international sanctions imposed after the 2002 discovery of Iran secret nuclear program sorely hit the country’s economy. On July 14, 2015 the “Joint Plan of Action” (JPOA) was signed between Iran and the P5+1 (US, UK, Germany, France, Russia). This agreement has been reached thirteen years after the beginning of the negotiations which had often been interrupted due to disagreements. This being said, Khamenei never showed enthusiasm for agreements. In 2012, he blamed the President Rafsanjani’s team for the 2003 agreement, and he also raised doubts about the JPOA rapidly after its signature. In 2018, President Trump announced the resignation of the agreement, despite the fact that there was no evidence of major violation of the deal by Iran. One year later, Iran openly announced that it will transgress the clauses signed because of the violation of the agreement by the U.S. On February 17, 2021, Khamenei declared in a video conference with Iranian people from East Azerbaijan Province that “We have already spoken about the Islamic Republic’s policy on the JCPOA. Today, I only wish to say that we have heard many good words and promises, but in practice, they have not been honored.” (“About JCPOA, the Other Side’s Actions Matter, Not Their Promises”), In, August 2022 discussions to write a new agreement led to a first paper proposed by Europeans country, but for now the U.S rejected the presented form.
The website precise about this picture that it was taken when “Secretary Kerry posed with his fellow E.U., P+5, and his Iran counterparts at the Austria center in Vienna, Austria on July 14, 2015, before the formal announcement of the agreement concluding the Iranian nuclear negotiations”
Finally, although Khamenei claims his goal is only to detain a nuclear fuel, according to authors Price and Kazemzadeh, he could easily overturned the fatwa currently banning nuclear weapons, just like ayatollah Khomeini overturned the fatwa concerning the civil nuclear program. Therefore, the fact that the U.S and Europe have often put the Iranian nuclear program issue at the top of their political agenda is well founded and reflects their concerns.
