Iran's leader endorses nuclear deal

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei endorsed the landmark nuclear deal on Wednesday following the recent approval of the agreement by Iran's legislative bodies. In a letter issued in the day, Khamenei asked President Hassan Rouhani and his negotiating team to be vigilant about the implementation of the nuclear deal since the United States "cannot be trusted." This is the first time that Khamenei openly comments on the nuclear deal which was reached between Iran and the P5+1 group -- namely permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany -- in July. Last week, Iran's Guardian Council, the highest legislative body of the country, endorsed the support of the Iranian parliament to the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). "During the eight years (the span of time to normalize Iran's nuclear program), any sanction, at any level and under any pretext including the fabricated human rights issues and terrorism, by any country involved in the nuclear talks with Iran, would be a violation of the JCPOA," according to the letter. If such a move is taken by the other party, the Iranian government has to adopt reciprocal measures and to halt the implementation of the deal, it said. On Sunday, Iran and the powers announced the start of the implementation of the nuclear deal reached on July 14 in the Austrian capital of Vienna. In the day, western countries took pragmatic steps to start the process of lifting their sanctions against Iran as Tehran responded positively and voiced the hope that some of those sanctions can be lifted this year.