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Former Iranian Diplomat Amir Mousavi said that he believes newly elected U.S. President Joe Biden will rejoin the JCPOA agreement in an interview that aired on Mayadeen TV (Lebanon) on January 30, 2021. He said that Obama had entered the JCPOA because he was forced to do so by Iran and not of his own free will. Mousavi explained that Iran has significant cards that will force President Biden to rejoin the JCPOA without any preconditions and in compliance with all Iranian conditions. He continued to say that Supreme Leader Khamenei's fatwa that forbids the development of a military nuclear project in Iran can be changed if the Americans and Zionists act in a "dangerous manner." For more about Khamenei's alleged anti-nuclear fatwa, see MEMRI Inquiry and analysis series Nos. 1478, 1458, 825, 1022 and 1151 and Special Dispatches No. 5406 and 5461. Mousavi was Iran's Cultural Attaché in Algeria, but left in 2018 amid accusations of recruiting Shi'ite Algerians.
Amir Mousavi: "There are two important reasons that prompted President Obama to sign the agreement with Iran. The first reason is that he strived to win the Nobel prize. The second reason is connected to the RQ-170 UAV that came from Kandahar and was downed by the IRGC in the Tabas desert, and all the dangerous secrets it carried inside. Obama was forced to sign the nuclear agreement with Iran. He did not enter it of his own free will and did not do it as a favor to anyone. He was forced into it by Iran. Therefore, I believe that today as well, Iran is holding some significant cards, which it can use to force President Biden to return [to the JCPOA] with no preconditions, and in keeping with the Iranian conditions. I believe that this is what is going to happen.
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"I believe that President Biden and all the statements of the new administration — regarding Iran's missiles, Iran's regional relations, and Iran's support of the resistance movements in the region — these statements are all aimed at relieving internal and external pressure, and after that [Biden] will sign [an agreement with Iran]. We, in Iran, do not take [these statements] seriously, and the Iranian leadership is not in a hurry. As I said, so long as the Americans delay carrying out their obligations and lifting the sanctions, Iran will further develop its nuclear and defensive capabilities. I believe that the international community is the one that stands to lose and not Iran. Therefore, they are the ones that must speed things up. Iran is calm, taking its time, and putting things in order. It does not concern itself with what Macron or others are saying..."
Interviewer: "There is an Iranian obligation... Before I turn to our guest in Washington... There is an Iranian obligation and a fatwa of the Supreme Leader Khamenei regarding [Iran's commitment] not to take the nuclear project in a military direction. Can this change?"
Mousavi: "I, personally, see exactly this. The actions of others are... A fatwa is not permanent, according to the Ja'afari Shi'ite jurisprudence. A fatwa is issued in accordance with developing circumstances. Therefore, I believe that if the Americans and Zionists act in a dangerous manner, the fatwa might be changed."
Interviewer: "It will require a new fatwa."
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