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Source: http://nypost.com/2013/09/25/clearing-the-iranian-nuclear-fog/
Clearing the Iranian Nuclear Fog
(New York Post) Amir Taheri - President Obama told the UN on Tuesday: "the Supreme Leader has issued a fatwa against the development of nuclear weapons." While the exact text of this fatwa remains a mystery, a fatwa is an opinion, not binding the umma (the community of Muslims). There is no mechanism through which fatwas issued by Khamenei can be legally binding on any Iranian, let alone Iran as a nation-state. There is a mechanism called khat-e-hokumati (state decision), but Khamenei has issued no such thing on the nuclear issue. He has just expressed an opinion that he or any other mullah can contradict or cancel anytime. For 18 years Iran has been engaged in researching, designing and building capabilities for which it has no peaceful use, and thus can only be for building nuclear weapons. If Iran complies with the five UN Security Council resolutions on the nuclear issue, the dispute will be over; if it doesn't, the dispute will continue. Whether or not Rouhani ever shakes Obama's hand, and whether or not he shows "moderation and flexibility" on American TV, are beside the point.