TEHRAN, Iran — The Iranian supreme leader’s Nowruz speech in the northeastern city of Mashhad on March 20 centered on one subject: negative reactions to talk of Barjam 2. "Barjam" is the Persian acronym for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed last year. Prior to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s speech, President Hassan Rouhani and other Iranian government officials had referred to the plan as Barjam 2. Indeed, one day before the speech in Mashhad, Rouhani had once again brought up the controversial term in his own Nowruz message. Rouhani said, "Barjam 2 is the same National Joint Plan of Action in the country, which will start with unity, reconciliation and empathy — a Barjam that will start with morality before the economy."

Rouhani first started using the term in early February. At that time, Masoud Nili, the president’s senior adviser for economic affairs, told this author in an interview published by Iran Newspaper that there is a need for a second JCPOA in the economic arena. In the Feb. 2 interview, Nili said, “We need consensus internally. We need an internal JCPOA. Political consensus is a necessity for development and making progress and also for getting the economy out of its recession.” Nili said he thought that the economic situation in the country is such that there is a strong need for a kind of a Loya Jirga, in which political and economic elders from different factions would talk about the requirements for achieving development.

Subsequently, Rouhani used the term in a Feb. 3 speech, saying, “It’s now time for us to implement Barjam 2, or the National Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. We must all show up to the scene in unity and solidarity toward implementation of Barjam 2.” Notably, Rouhani did not specify what he meant. He did not say anything about what Barjam 2 requires, nor whether it is political or economic in nature.

However, Momammad Nahavandian, the president's chief of staff, has clarified what Rouhani meant by Barjam 2. Nahavandian described the term as economic, saying, “Barjam 2 is a National Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. It means we all must join hands together, and the public and private sector need to join forces and mobilize all resources.”