LATEST: Supreme Leader Blasts US in Speech at Khomeini Memorial

WEDNESDAY FEATURE

Speaking on Tuesday on the 25th anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini’s death, President Rouhani emphasized:

In foreign policy, we will manage to both defend nuclear rights and break the chains of illegal sanctions….Nuclear energy, progress and development, science, influence in the region and across the world, and unity are the absolute rights of the great Iranian nation.

Experts from Iran and the 5+1 Powers (US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China) hold talks on Wednesday, with high-level negotiations resuming in Vienna on June 16.

The two sides are seeking a comprehensive agreement before an interim Joint Plan of Action expires on July 20.

Iran’s lead negotiator, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, said on Tuesday that the talks were “a battle of wills and determination”. He claimed Iran had already succeeded because “the other side…was forced to cross its red line and accept Iran’s inalienable right of enrichment based on the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty)”.

Supreme Leader Blasts US in Speech at Khomeini Memorial

The Supreme Leader has used his speech on the 25th anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini’s death to give a global review of America’s bad deeds, including surveillance of foreign leaders like Germany’s Angela Merkel and Senator John McCain’s intervention in the Ukraine crisis:

Press TV headlines its summary, “Iran Never Giving In to West“.

See Supreme Leader Uses Khomeini Memorial to Denounce US & Its “Global Arrogance”

Intelligence Minister Strikes Out at Criticism of Government

Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi has tried to quell criticism of the Rouhani Government, saying at a memorial ceremony for Ayatollah Khomeini:

Whether you’re a principlist, reformist, or independent, you shouldn’t belong to a political faction just to undermine one another….Critics of the administration are mistaken if they think they can undermine the administration for their own personal benefit. If the administration is undermined, it hurts all of us.

FM Zarif Criticizes Those Advocating Military Solution for Syria

Speaking on the day of Syria’s Presidential election, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has criticized those advocating a military solution to the 39-month conflict.

Zarif asked, at a press conference in Tehran with his Luxembourg counterpart:

Why do you hinder the Syrian people from deciding their own destiny, and why are you biased towards Syria’s future?…The ballot box is surely the best way to determine the future of Syria.

Foreign Ministry: US “Disqualified” From Commenting on Human Rights

The Foreign Ministry has hit back at US criticism of Iran’s human rights, saying the American record disqualifies it from comment.

Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham denounced “crimes against human rights in secret US prisons”, referring to conditions in Guantanamo Bay and Afghanistan’s Camp Bagram, and cited US sanctions and fostering of unrest.

Earlier on Tuesday, US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki expressed Washington’s concerns over the “large number” of executions in Iran.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, Ahmad Shaheed, has repeatedly cited Iran’s use of the death penalty and its large number of political prisoners.