TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Monday the fate of a historic nuclear deal with world powers is still unclear as lawmakers in both the Islamic Republic and the U.S. review it.
The comments by Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters in Iran, suggests he supports allowing Iran's parliament to review and vote on the deal. However, his remarks carried on his official website still offered no clue on whether he himself supported the accord.
Referring to the U.S., Khamenei said: "In their understanding of the deal, of which its fate is not clear since it is not clear if will be approved here or there, their intention was to find a way to penetrate into the country."
He added: "We blocked the way. We will strongly block this way. We will not allow either economic penetration or political and cultural penetration into the country by the U.S."
Iran's parliament and the Supreme National Security Council will consider the agreement in the coming days. On Sunday, more than 200 Iranian lawmakers issued a statement demanding the administration of President Hassan Rouhani submit the deal to parliament for a vote.
Khamenei himself has not publicly approved or disapproved. However, he has repeatedly offered words of support for Iran's nuclear negotiators.
The deal calls for limiting Iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting economic sanctions. The accord came after nearly two years of negotiations between Iran and world powers including the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany.
The West long has suspected Iran's nuclear program has a military dimension. Iran says its program is for peaceful purposes, like power generation and medical treatments.
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