Debka warning in effectIran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threw a large spanner in the works of nuclear diplomacy Sunday, May 11. Less than a week before the next round of talks with the six powers, he said: "The Revolutionary Guards should definitely... not be satisfied with the present level [of missile production]. They should mass produce."
Referring to Western concerns that Iran is designing missiles able to carry nuclear warheads, Khamenei said: "They [the West] expect us to limit our missile program while they constantly threaten Iran with military action. So this is a stupid, idiotic expectation."
Khamenei spoke during a visit to the aeronautics fair organized by the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), which are responsible for Iran's missile and nuclear programs.
The important bits of the post, IMHO
Of late, mainly under pressure from Israel, Washington informed Tehran that there was no escape from opening a discussion on ways of restricting the weapons dimensions of its nuclear program and its ballistic missile projects.
Hence Khamenei's furious comeback -- intended to force the Obama administration to give ground on these demands or prepare for nuclear diplomacy to be blown out of the sky.
| The closer the negotiations come to a deal, the nearer Tehran approaches a military coup that would oust President Rouhani and reduce the supreme leader to a figurehead. |
Khamenei read the writing on the wall and, finding himself between a rock and a hard place, decided that he had better stand firm on any further concessions - even this meant sacrificing nuclear diplomacy and its rewards.
| They never intended to give up their nuclear weapons anyway, and expected to get the rewards for their fait accompli without doing so. |