Press TV: Iran ‘not intimidated’ by sanctions
As Washington scrambles to assemble tougher sanctions against Tehran, a senior Iranian lawmaker assures that the country will never be ‘intimidated’ into giving up its nuclear rights.
In a speech commemorating the 30th anniversary of the US embassy takeover in Tehran, Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel warned Washington against threatening the Iranians with sanctions.
“[The Islamic Republic] will not negotiate on its legitimate rights,” said the former speaker of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis).
His remarks come after US President Barack Obama urged the Tehran government to “decide whether it wants to focus on the past, or whether it will make the choices that will open the door to greater opportunity, prosperity and justice for its people.”
“I have made it clear that the United States of America wants to move beyond this past, and seeks a relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran based upon mutual interests and mutual respect,” said the US President.
In Iran, Obama’s remarks were seen as a far cry from the oft-stated promises of ‘change’ he made while on the stump.
According to Haddad-Adel, the statements show that Obama’s promises of change were “mere slogans to help him rise to power.”
“What we have seen in the past ten months was just a change of tone in Washington, not a change of US policy,” said Haddad-Adel. “The real change should come in the US approach towards Muslim people and democracy.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has also said that Washington’s stance on Iran has not changed in the least.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran decided from the very beginning to avoid presumption and instead take into consideration the slogan of ‘change’. But what we have witnessed in practice during this period of time has been in contradiction with the remarks that have been made,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
Washington and a number of European powers have been trying hard in recent days to get Iran to sign an IAEA-drafted proposal on third-party nuclear fuel supply.
Under the plan, as much as 70 percent of Iran’s low-enriched uranium (LEU) would be sent abroad to be turned into fuel rods for medical use at the Tehran research reactor.
Powered by 20-percent enriched uranium, the Tehran research reactor produces isotopes for cancer care to more than 200 hospitals.
Iranian officials have welcomed foreign cooperation on fuel supply, but have rejected the idea of sending out the bulk of its stock in one batch.
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