Iranian ex-president: Deal shows desire to mend ties with West

The interim agreement between Iran and the P5+1 world powers was a monumental achievement for the Islamic Republic, Iranian ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said Sunday, and the fact that the accord was signed proved that the country’s clerical leadership was on board with the attempt to warm ties with the West.

“Ayatollah [Ali] Khamenei’s appreciation of the efforts made by the government should be seen as the concluding remarks approving the Rouhani government’s approach to reaching a diplomatic deal that leaves no space for any doubts,” the London based Asharq Al-Awsat quoted Rafsanjani as saying.

After a weekend of marathon talks in Geneva which were described by various diplomats as “very difficult,” Iran and the P5+1 world powers agreed on a “first-stage deal” meant to halt Iran’s advancement toward nuclear capability and allow unscheduled inspections at nuclear sites in exchange for access to a portion of revenue denied to the Iranian regime through sanctions.

Rafsanjani, a highly influential Iranian politician and current chairman of Iran’s Expediency Council, had been a vocal critic of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad policies which, Rafsanjani claimed, had brought about Iran’s international Isolation.

In July, Rafsanjani urged the then newly elected President Hassan Rouhani to implement deep changes in Iran’s foreign policy.

The Islamic Republic, he said, could no longer afford to remain “angry with the world.”

Rafsanjani, 78, is a founder of the 1979 Islamic revolution that brought the ayatollahs to power. He was the closest confidant of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, spiritual leader of the revolution.

He was banned from running in the presidential elections as the Islamic leadership officially deemed him “too weak,” due to his age, and unofficially considered him overly moderate and threatening to Khamenei. Rafsanjani threw his support behind Rouhani.

The Associated Press contributed to this report