Former Iranian negotiator faces charges, dismissal over leaked secret letter detailing leadership infighting

US-Iran War Key News

TEHRAN, June 21 (CNA) -- Iranian lawmaker Mahmoud Nabavian, who participated in negotiations, claimed that the Supreme Leader had requested in a secret letter to retain the right to uranium enrichment and sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, and accused the negotiation team of exceeding their authority. Nabavian now faces threats of prosecution and dismissal.

According to The Guardian, an interview with Mahmoud Nabavian, deputy chairman of Iran's National Security Committee, was interrupted midway. However, in the aired segments, Nabavian claimed to have seen a secret letter written by Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, accusing the Iranian negotiation team of exceeding their authority.

Nabavian claimed that Mojtaba Khamenei had already set 11 conditions for subsequent US-Iran negotiations, including demanding compensation from the US, retaining the right to uranium enrichment, lifting sanctions, releasing Iran's frozen assets, and exercising full sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz (including immediate collection of transit fees).

According to Nabavian, Mojtaba Khamenei specifically emphasized "Iran's monopoly on the management of the Strait of Hormuz, charging transit fees to passing vessels, imposing restrictions on enemy vessels, and distributing transit fee revenue to the people, families of martyrs, and veterans."

He ordered that the Strait of Hormuz should only be reopened if the US agreed to pay compensation. The US has agreed to establish a $350 billion (approximately NT$11.06 trillion) development fund, but the US side stated it would not contribute funds.

Nabavian also claimed that Mojtaba wrote in a letter to the negotiation team, "What was agreed upon in the Pakistan negotiations is completely different from what should have happened," directly violating the prerequisite for peace talks, and demanded an end to the negotiations.

After this interrupted interview was broadcast, the archived video was deleted within an hour, and a senior television executive subsequently resigned.

A spokesperson for the Iranian negotiation team refuted Nabavian's claims as outdated and distorted. The national television stated that Nabavian's remarks were "illegal ironclad evidence and should be prosecuted by law."

Iranian chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is currently leading the delegation in negotiations in Switzerland, and team members are calling for the identification of the leaker.

For a long time, centrists and reformists have considered the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) to have become a mouthpiece for hardliners, and Nabavian is a supporter of the hardliners.

Nabavian later stated on his Telegram channel that he had not disclosed classified documents but was merely revealing the truth.

He stated that according to the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, four issues must be resolved before the start of negotiations, including "ending the occupation in Lebanon and complete withdrawal of troops," the US unfreezing our funds instead of borrowing from Qatar, lifting the blockade, and temporarily lifting sanctions.

He questioned whether these four preconditions had been met before Foreign Ministry officials went to Geneva for negotiations, and further asked, "Does this mean that people should not know what the leader's orders are, and why the negotiators defied these orders?"

This incident not only reveals the tense relationship among Iran's top leadership but also seems to indicate that the management style adopted by the newly appointed Supreme Leader in negotiations is far more "hands-on" than previously known. (Compiled by: Chang Ming-hsuan) 20230622)

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