'Divine Blessing' of Nuke Deal Went According to Ayatollah Khamenei's Direction

Iran’s Supreme Leader, who called Israel “rabid dogs” and openly denounced the West during the nuclear negotiation process, hailed President Hassan Rouhani for the deal forged at the P5+1.

“Definitely, the success was made relying on the divine blessing and the support of the Iranian nation,” said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.

The ayatollah added that “Iranian authorities should always maintain the spirit of resisting against excessive demanding.”

Khamenei’s letter to Rouhani was actually a response to the president, who wrote to the Supreme Leader to advise him that his nuclear deal had gone through.

“Undoubtedly, this breakthrough is the result of God’s blessings, the Leader’s guidelines and unwavering support of the Iranian nation,” Rouhani wrote to the ayatollah.

Rouhani also said “world powers have come to the conclusion that sanctions and pressures will prove futile, and as Iran stated from the very beginning, there is no way to reach agreement but through mutual respect and respectful negotiations.”

Senior Military Aide to the Iranian Supreme Leader Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi said a weak U.S. has failed to rein in the “Islamic awakening.”

“Some people think that the Americans have controlled the waves of Islamic awakening. The Americans are not able to harness the Islamic awakening the same way that they couldn’t control the Islamic Revolution (of Iran), the Islamic awakening cannot be stopped,” Safavi said, according to Fars.

While the U.S. maintains that there is no recognized right to enrich uranium, Iran says it wouldn’t have approved a deal otherwise. Iran’s Foreign Ministry says the deal allows Iran to continue its activities at Arak, Fordow and Natanz while stipulating that no additional sanctions will be imposed on Tehran.

Secretary of State John Kerry returns to Washington today for what’s expected to be the start of furious lobbying of Congress to stop additional sanctions against Iran. The Senate plans to vote on new sanctions after returning from Thanksgiving, and key Democrats in support of sanctions have already emerged as suspicious of the White House deal.