Still describing the US as “the enemy,” a leading Iranian general says that to date, Washington has conceded to all of Tehran’s demands in the negotiations.
Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), warned on Saturday that all sanctions against Iran must be removed in a single step. Otherwise, he said, the nuclear talks between Tehran and the world powers could end up in failure.
He further stated that until now, the US has conceded to all the Iranian demands.
Addressing a gathering of IRGC commanders on Saturday, Jafari said that the “nuclear technology is a symbol of the Iranian nation’s power, honor and capability.”
The US, he added, was “seeking to break the nation’s resistance against Washington’s hegemonic policies through the nuclear talks by forcing Iran to withdraw from its positions under the pressure of the sanctions,” Iran’s Fars News reports.
Despite this pressure, Iran was successful in achieving what it wanted in the negotiations, the general said. “No binding agreement has been made yet; only some solutions have been found, and the enemy [the US and the other powers] seems to have admitted the Islamic Republic’s principles and red lines in the area of technical issues.”
Demands Immediate Removal of Sanctions
Jafari, one of the most influential people in Tehran, reiterated Iran’s demand that all economic sanctions on Iran be removed immediately after the signing of the final deal and not in phases, as the US had claimed. “There are still ambiguities about the way the sanctions should be lifted, which need to become transparent; we should know that this very issue about the sanctions removal can lead to failure in (obtaining a final) agreement,” the IRGC commander warned.
In similar remarks on Tuesday, Jafari underscored that termination of all sanctions and possession of the full nuclear fuel cycle are Iran’s red line in any nuclear agreement.
“The significance of the talks … lies in the fact that these sanctions should all be removed in a single phase in lieu of the concessions that Iran provides,” he declared.
On Thursday Iranian President Hassan stated that there would be no deal “unless all sanctions were lifted on the same day… We want a win-win deal for all parties involved in the nuclear talks.”
Sticking to Path of ‘Revolution’
Jafari emphasized that irrespective of the results of the nuclear talks, Iran will maintain its “Islamic and revolutionary values, principles and stances” and will never be “coaxed or intimidated into giving up its present course of action and policy.”
“The main goal of the enemy is changing the attitude of the establishment, as it wrongly believes that it can do so through the nuclear negotiations and economic sanctions,” the IRGC top commander said, reiterating that past experience throughout the last 36 years shows that the US attempt is “destined to failure.”
Iran’s nuclear technology, he said, serves as “resistance for protecting rights and standing up to the enemy’s bullying.”
He voiced appreciation for the Iranian diplomats and negotiators for their efforts, “resistance and emphasis on the red lines,” adding that after the framework agreement between Tehran and the P5+1 in Lausanne was made, the US admitted the irrelevance of the military option and continued sanctions against Iran.
“The US, which was seeking to change Iran’s political behavior, was forced to change its political behavior towards our people, and contrary to its previous policy, it was forced to forget all its over-the-table options and replace them with the diplomatic path to settle the nuclear issue,” Jafari said.
“The Iranian nation’s resistance made the US fail in imposing its political will on the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he stated.
Nevertheless, Jafari said that a difficult path remained ahead of diplomatic efforts given that the US cannot be trusted.
By: Max Gelber
Staff Writer, United with Israel
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