Post-Deal Iran Asks if U.S. Is Still ‘Great Satan,’ or Something Less
- 9 years ago
Negotiating the nuclear agreement was a torturous, two-year process for Iran's leaders, but a new kind of struggle is unfolding now in Iran, where the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and President Hassan Rouhani have begun to tackle a question Iranians have not thought about much since the revolution 37 years ago: How to deal with their great enemy, the United States, after having reached a compromise with it.
"We have announced that we will not negotiate with the Americans on any issue other than the nuclear case," Mr. Khamenei said this month.
Speaking to a group of hard-line students recently he was even more explicit, telling them to "prepare for the continuation of the fight against America."
By contrast, Mr. Rouhani said on Sunday that the nuclear agreement was "not the end of the way," but "a beginning for creating an atmosphere of friendship and cooperation with various countries."
"We have announced that we will not negotiate with the Americans on any issue other than the nuclear case," Mr. Khamenei said this month.
Speaking to a group of hard-line students recently he was even more explicit, telling them to "prepare for the continuation of the fight against America."
By contrast, Mr. Rouhani said on Sunday that the nuclear agreement was "not the end of the way," but "a beginning for creating an atmosphere of friendship and cooperation with various countries."