Influential Iranian clerics are calling for an end to negotiations with the United States after the latest US strikes.
In a statement on Sunday by the theological centres in the pilgrimage city of Qom, the clerics urged the president, members of the security council and the negotiating team to end talks with the US immediately in the event of another breach of the agreement.
This must be done on both legal and religious grounds, as a breach of contract would constitute a violation of the provisions set out in the framework agreement, the statement said. It was read out on state broadcaster IRIB.
The theological centres in Qom are led by influential clerics. Since the 1979 revolution led by Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, they have been regarded as initiators of the country’s Islamic ideology and accordingly wield significant influence in the political system.
Media close to the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also consider further negotiations with the US no longer tenable. They said the strikes had already violated the first and central point of the framework agreement – an end to hostilities on all fronts. Under these circumstances, further talks were pointless, they argued.
In recent days, there have been renewed mutual attacks in the war with Iran despite a ceasefire. The US carried out strikes on Iran after Tehran, according to US information, attacked a ship in the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast on Thursday and on Saturday. Before that, Iran had warned that passage through the strait was safe only on the route determined by Tehran.