Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Wednesday made his first public statement regarding the nuclear deal reached between his country and six world powers, warning that some of the parties on the other side were not trustworthy, Reuters reported.
Khamenei said that the text of the deal reached should be carefully scrutinized and legal procedures taken so the other side does not breach it.
The cautious comments by Khamenei, the ultimate authority on matters of state in Iran, were in sharp contrast to praise lavished on the accord by President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif since it was struck on Tuesday.
Under the deal, sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union and the United Nations will be lifted in return for Iran agreeing long-term curbs on a nuclear program that the West has suspected was aimed at creating a nuclear bomb.
In a letter to Rouhani and quoted by Reuters, Khamenei wrote: "Reaching a deal is a significant step, but the text of the deal should be carefully scrutinized and the legal procedures should be taken so when the deal is ratified the other side cannot breach it."
"Some of the members of the P5+1 are not trustworthy," he said, referring to the six world powers, in the letter.
"I ask our dear nation to stay calm and united so we can preserve our national interests in a serene and sensible environment," Khamenei wrote, according to Reuters.
Earlier on Wednesday, Rouhani touted the deal as a “political victory” for Iran and said it meant Tehran would no longer be regarded as a world threat.
Rouhani stated that at the start of the talks, the two major goals of Iran were to remove all sanctions and keep its entire nuclear program while continuing to develop that program.
He added that Iran got the U.S. and other world powers to concede on those demands and gloated that despite the massive concessions, Iran is not forced to dismantle a single nuclear facility.
In contrast to Iran's attainment of its goals in the deal, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) on Tuesday warned that President Barack Obama's administration had given up on its stated goals.
"At the outset of these talks, the Obama administration said it would secure an agreement that affirmed Iran does not have a right to enrich and permanently dismantles the infrastructure of its nuclear programs. It said that sanctions would not be lifted until Iran met concrete, verifiable standards. And if these terms were not met, the president promised he would walk away."
"The American people and our allies were counting on President Obama to keep his word. Instead, the president has abandoned his own goals," said Boehner.