Khamenei says sanctions must be removed, not suspended

In his most detailed speech regarding the final nuclear agreement, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei discussed the need for sanctions removal, rather than suspension. “If the framework of sanctions is to be preserved, then why did we negotiate?” asked Khamenei during his meeting with the Assembly of Experts. He said if sanctions are not removed, “It is completely opposed to the reason the Islamic Republic has a presence in the negotiations because the goal of the negotiations was to remove the sanctions.” The meeting took place after former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and current negotiator Abbas Araghchi testified before the Assembly of Experts.

Khamenei said, “If on certain matters we compromised and gave concessions on certain issues, it was primarily to remove sanctions. Otherwise what need was there to negotiate? We would have continued our work and the 19,000 centrifuges that we have. In a short time we could have reached 50,000 or 60,000 centrifuges, and continue 20% enrichment and speed up development and research.”