Iranian Speaker: US Talks Forbidden, Detrimental
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf roundly dismissed the idea of negotiations with the US, saying “smart and active resistance” is a strategic option for the Iranian nation.
Addressing an open session of the Parliament on Sunday, Qalibaf said Iran is not opposed to diplomacy and negotiations, but entering talks with the US “is strictly forbidden and detrimental.”
He also noted that any dialogue with the European countries must be held with maximum mistrust, pointing to the Western government’s recent push for an anti-Iran resolution in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors.
“In recent days, the Western states, particularly the US and sadly a number of European countries, once again proved their untrustworthy and hostile nature to the Iranian nation,” Qalibaf noted.
The resolution that the IAEA Board of Governors adopted on Iran with the Western support revealed for the umpteenth time that the only strategic option for the Iranian nation is smart and active resistance, the speaker added, saying there is full national and political consensus about such strategy.
On Friday, the IAEA Board of Governors adopted a resolution calling on Iran to fully cooperate with the IAEA in implementing its NPT Safeguards Agreement and Additional Protocol and satisfy the IAEA's requests without further delay.
The resolution, submitted by France, Germany and the UK, was adopted by a vote of 25 to 2 with 7 abstentions.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has slammed the EU3 for sponsoring the resolution, calling on them to muster the courage and admit their failure to honor their commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal.