Rouhani Calls for 'Fair' Talks as Iran Marks Revolution

إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية W460

President Hassan Rouhani called for "fair and constructive" nuclear talks Tuesday as Iranians marked the 35th anniversary of the Islamic revolution amid recent progress in negotiations with world powers.

Rouhani, a moderate elected last year on vows to pursue a diplomatic solution to the decade-long impasse over Iran's nuclear program, also warned that Western nations should not have "delusions" about having a military option.

He spoke as hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to mark the anniversary of the revolution that ousted the U.S.-backed shah, with many railing against the United States, still commonly referred to as the "Great Satan."

Iran is set to resume talks in Vienna next week with the P5+1 group of world powers on a comprehensive nuclear accord following a landmark interim agreement reached in November in which it agreed to curb some nuclear activities for sanctions relief.

But Tehran has laid out a series of "red lines" regarding the talks, and in a show of defiance on the eve of the anniversary announced it had successfully tested a long-range missile and a laser-guided projectile.

"Iran is committed to fair and constructive negotiations within the framework of international regulations; we hope to witness such a willingness in the other party in the upcoming talks," Rouhani said in a speech broadcast live on state television.

"I say explicitly, if some have delusions of having any threats against Iran on their tables, they need to wear new glasses. There is no military option against Iran on any table in the world," he added.

Western nations have long suspected Iran of covertly pursuing nuclear weapons alongside its civilian program, allegations denied by Tehran, which insists its nuclear activities are entirely peaceful.

Neither the United States nor Israel has ruled out military action to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, if diplomacy fails.

Rouhani delivered the speech in honor of the anniversary at central Tehran's Azadi Square, where huge crowds had gathered, many of them chanting against the United States.

"We don't trust America. All they want is to plunder our wealth", a 20-year-old Bassij Islamic militia member told Agence France Presse.

"We are fine with enduring the hardships (of international sanctions) because it will lead to the preservation of our rights."

'Red lines' in next week's talks

Iran made progress over the weekend with the U.N. nuclear watchdog by agreeing to divulge information that could shed light on allegations of possible past weapons research.

But officials also insisted on "red lines" in next week's talks with the P5+1 -- Britain, France, the United States, Russia and China plus Germany.

Negotiators said they would neither discuss Iran's ballistic missile program nor agree to the closure any nuclear sites or abandoning the "right" to enrich uranium to 20 percent, a few technical steps away from weapons-grade material.

The missile program -- targeted by U.N. Security Council sanctions -- worries Western powers, as Iran boasts long-range missiles with a maximum range of 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles), enough to reach Israel.

The November deal is seen as a victory for Rouhani's foreign policy, after eight years of stalled talks and escalating sanctions under his hardline predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Rouhani has the support of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but hardliners argue that Iran gave up too much in the November deal and have been critical of his diplomatic overtures, particularly towards the United States.

U.S. and Iranian officials have held several face-to-face talks in recent months, but the resumption of diplomatic relations with Washington, which severed ties with Iran after the seizure of its embassy in the aftermath of the revolution, is still a taboo for many Iranians.

Tehran on Monday summoned the Swiss ambassador to Iran, whose country represents American interests, to protest U.S. measures imposed on companies and individuals for violating sanctions against Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif meanwhile warned that the talks in Vienna would be "difficult," while anticipating that a framework for future negotiations would be discussed.

"The biggest challenge is the lack of trust," he said.

Comments 28
Missing rami 11 February 2014, 11:09

Can you see FT with the red shirt, bottom right?

Missing imagine_1979 11 February 2014, 11:17

Lets wait and see rouhani speech, will it be diffrent from "death to the satanic USA" of hi predecessor?...
Preparing chupachups...

Thumb Mystic 11 February 2014, 11:37

This was a great day, when the Americans were kicked out along with the Shah, and Iran flourished, real iranians will always disgrace the americans for what they did, and do to them.

Missing imagine_1979 11 February 2014, 11:40

Yes when the iranian people rose against imperialistic west then islamic gardians decided to execute all leftist and implement charia laws with the chabiha (bassij) turning iran in a very secular, progressist democratic country...
Bravo mystic, again go have some chupachups man...

Thumb Mystic 11 February 2014, 11:43

The Revolution in 1979 was started by leftist and poor workers, it is not a hard sharia law in Iran, as you see in Saudi Arabia.

Missing imagine_1979 11 February 2014, 12:00

Indeed and they got executed jaild and exilled by the great gardians of yhe iranian iskamic revolution.. The guys u r so happy of...
Bravo mystic next time read the post well man..
Again u seem tensed and confuse, go for some chupachups man, chupachups...

Missing imagine_1979 11 February 2014, 12:05

Thank u phill i was just trying to show mystic that the goal is not to be against satanic west or the east or whatever but to make a good fair and democratic country.. Man rouhani used twitter a month ago and that created political official arguing, they really think gards of iranian islamic revolution and bassij are better than ksa/uea... Or just bc it feet their own leaders.. At least let they be frank and stop this nonsence...
Thk u phill for ur support..

Thumb Mystic 11 February 2014, 12:33

Western democracy is not for the rest of the world Imagine, polls should be made, and decisions decided. But the west does not have the right to force others to execute same rules as they have.

Missing imagine_1979 11 February 2014, 13:16

Democracy is for every one and it is not the west who implemwnted it it is the struggel of the people against all kind of rulers, we are not dummer than the west, we eat, get sick, live and die like them, we should be alowed freedome... And iranians, saoudi, bahrani, syrians to...
Man please stop this stupid west rethoric, china became more capitalist than USA and they still have this rethoric, iran is doing its own buisness with the US, syria enjoyed stability for long and yet kept their people in the momana3a (resistance to the west) ideology...
Please get off that crap, try to be human, palestine is saddely (very saddely) a pretext used tgey even managed to split plaestenian organization to take control over palestinian decisions..
Man please get real...
And go have some chupachups...

Missing imagine_1979 11 February 2014, 16:01

Mystic my friend here u goes again with america is about to collapse and the downfall of imperialism...
So again: cold war ended man, china became more capitalist than US (saddely) what interest me at that point is my country, my familly.. So my children don't hv the same stupid childhood i had, that they wont need to move from a region to another, and when my country will be fine then i will see for the rest of the world..
Democracy looks not so bad in europe, citizen have the same rights, armed militias are repressed, they can vote and no party goes publicaly threatening other with arms, no ministers decides to engage into war while the official country stance is dissociation,u know stability..

Missing imagine_1979 11 February 2014, 16:01

As for democracy, well not too long ago france was ruled by a king, the cut his head off as well as more than 40000 others, unstability for 100 years but finaly got democracy.. Those guys used to put on fires red headded women please donnot come saying that we cannot be as democrate as they are... We are not that dum u know...
Take it easy man, think calmly, we still hv a chance, look tunis is taking the step, wy don't we?...

Missing imagine_1979 11 February 2014, 16:36

Sorry sothern i don't hv utube access now, what is it about?...

Missing imagine_1979 11 February 2014, 16:44

Texas i agree with u on hezbollah plans.. In fact he can wish for whatever it want but not impose them by force on us..
Well i think that southern is not really hezbollah but a good person still stuck in anti imperialistic west ideology refusing to accept that other countries than the west (putin's rusia, khoumayini's iran are as imperialists as the USA) and that southern consider this as the main batle, wish is ok with me everyone is free to hv his own opinion but i refuse that a southern lebanese deliberately forget how hezbos can be bloody but still remembers only geagea and christians masacres.. That he is trying to make hezbos looking like saints that only combated israel while thise guys took control, by force and assassinations of south lebanon...
Sad reallity texas... Really sad...

Missing imagine_1979 11 February 2014, 16:45

Yet i might be wrong...

Missing imagine_1979 11 February 2014, 17:30

Thank southern, the same is written on the panteon in paris, and same slogan used in the begining if syria uprising (as well as a lot of other revolts)
Now for utube, are u telling me that the israelly state is an enemy? This my dear friend i know, i hv given u enough exemples in my coments so u can get an image of what i think: yes i conssider the resistance as a legitime right fir all lebanese a patriotic resistance formed with all sects and all regions (u know like "jamoul" if u are really southern u must know what it is)and not an islamic resistance who killed levanese and can again with no impunity
, but if we can get our labd back by UN resolution why not (maybe it wont happened but why not try, what do we hv to lose by diploamcy, and we were close to that point that nasseallah himself got out on televised speech to say that even if we get israel withdrawel from chabaa/jafarchouba... The arms will stay... So this is not its goal....

Missing imagine_1979 11 February 2014, 17:31

For the palestinian cause syrian regime and iran (but mostly syrian regime) dismenteled palestenian groups (u know fateh el intifada, fplp general comand) to take control of palestinian cause..
Pleas get out from those idea(who deep are good but only used to divert from real problems)
Southern at least be honest to ur past and see hezbollah as it really is, defenitly not charity group...

Missing imagine_1979 11 February 2014, 20:51

Wawou mystic: first i'm glad that u took refurge in lebanon as i wish that all other refugies will find help but starting to tell that we are west guys or americans and so..at ur place i would start to think of syria post assad man.. And till then have a lot of chupachups, u really need some...

Missing imagine_1979 11 February 2014, 21:01

My dear friend southern:
First thank u for answering in an evasive way, i will make it simplier to u:
1- was the resistance patriotic and global with multiple sects or no (i will give u a hint lola aboud for exemple..)
2- did hezbollah fought with amal for more than 2 years and hundreeds (sime say thousands) of death; beware it is tricky bc nassrallah said no..
3- u know mehdi 3amel? (If u don't it's a shame) can u tell us how he died?...
4-how many shia was in south lebanese army? And how many christians in the resistance (so u see how ur religious way to tackle things is a mess)
Lets start by those, those are simple question and only on south lebanon just to see...

Thumb Mystic 11 February 2014, 11:38

Just like the resistance kicked out the American marines from Beirut in 1983. Glorious days indeed

Thumb smarty 11 February 2014, 12:34

stockholm syndrom..... so damn obvious.

Missing imagine_1979 11 February 2014, 13:22

Smartie, first i think mustic is syrian which is fine with me (i believe we all are the same and all deserve stability and freedome)
I think he was one of those who profited from the regime (like many lebanese) who enjoyed a certain freedome (bc he was ok with what the regime was doing) and finaly that he was from an upper middle class so that he didnot felt the abuse and the misery millions of syrian felt...
Yet i might be wrong...
Finaly i believe there is still hope in everyone, even mystic, hence our concersation...
But truely mystic if u have the choice would live in an iranian islamic state or in the satanic USA, the question donnot apply cause no one wants us (look at swisterland votes) but just in theory?....
Anyway good day to u all...

Thumb Mystic 11 February 2014, 14:04

Syrian, Iranian, whatever imagine. I tell you the same that i told the rest. Last time i checked my passport was Lebanese and i can tell you, that your not the first one to say i am from some other nation.

Thumb Mystic 11 February 2014, 14:06

If you see Lebanon annexed with Syria fine by me, then something must be wrong with my passport. Nothing is worse than Saudi Arabia Israel and USA, be it Iran Hezbollah or Syria. Thats what you people don't understand, if the takfiris or Israelis set your houses on fire, you would still be whining Hezbollah did it, or Iran for that matter.

Missing imagine_1979 11 February 2014, 15:00

It was not supposed to be offensive mystic, i ve written in my post that i conssider all the same..
But that was the impression u left in ur post, being syrian is not an insult whatsoever, there is great syrian as there is dum lebanese, so take it easy bro..
Then again for someone like me who donnot give real importance about what religion / ethnicity i felt by ur post that u must be syrian... I was wrong, sorry again SNSP?.. That would explain (and also it is not an insult but just to see to wich extent i missed...
Hv a good day mystic

Thumb Mystic 11 February 2014, 15:06

imagine_1979 whatever you assume i am, is of no importance, and has nothing to do with this article. Your words seems like an American.

Missing imagine_1979 11 February 2014, 16:15

Texas, sad but true, but i don't really know if they realise this, they tent to forget that hezbolah is a sectarian party (ISLAMIC resistance) they tent to forget (thk u southern) that hezbollah participated a killed during civil war, kidnapped, assassinated oppnents... They forgot that it's original goal was an islamic regime as in iran...
They think that hezbollah is a nice friend, powerfull that can help them.. Same that the iranian leftist tought of their islamist revolution comrades before being executed ,jailed and put in an islamic state with islamic revolution guards and bassij millicias....
Yes texas...
I think i will go have some chupachups...

Thumb beiruti 11 February 2014, 20:52

Right, fair and balanced talks. Like Fox News is fair and balanced. We know what that means, right? It means, "what's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable."

Thumb scorpyonn 12 February 2014, 01:19

The only language these animals (Iran) understand is the use of force. They are a curse to our planet and it would be in the interest of the world to flatten and destroy them.