LATEST: Supreme Leader’s Top Advisor “West Must Respect Our Nuclear Rights”
President Rouhani grabbed headlines on Monday with claims that he has written an editorial in a German newspaper which called for improvement of Iran’s relations with the US.
But has he?
Reuters claims that Rouhani wrote for Sueddeutsche Zeitung:
We want to rebuild and improve our relations to European and North American countries on a basis of mutual respect.
We are striving to avoid new burdens on relations between Iran and the United States and also to remove the tensions that we have inherited.
While past US offenses against Iran could not be forgotten, Rouhani said, “We must now concentrate on the present and orientate ourselves towards the future.” He asserted that Iran was “working towards removing all doubts and answer all reasonable questions” about its nuclear program.
However, Presidential advisor Mohammad Reza Sadeq said the report of an editorial is “completely untrue“, according to Fars News.
Fars claimed Sadeq said in an interview on Monday night:
Irrespective of the content, Dr. Rouhani has not sent any note or piece of writing to this German publication and attributing this contribution to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s President is a lie.
EA could not trace the editorial on Suddeutsche Zeitung’s website.
However, Rouhani’s office put out a message on Twitter on Monday which echoed the theme of the supposed article:
We want to rebuild and improve our relations to European and North American countries on a basis of mutual respect.
— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) December 23, 2013
We are striving to avoid new burdens on relations between Iran and the United States and also to remove the tensions that we have inherited.
— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) December 23, 2013
We must now concentrate on the present and orientate ourselves towards the future.
— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) December 23, 2013
We'll never give up our right to #nuclear energy. But we're working towards removing all doubts and answer all reasonable questions.
— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) December 23, 2013
Supreme Leader’s Top Advisor “West Must Respect Our Nuclear Rights”
Ali Akbar Velayati, the Supreme Leader’s top foreign policy advisor, has restated Iran’s insistence on a right to enrichment of uranium:
We want negotiations but within the framework of our legitimate rights and by respecting the international rules.
Our people should be rest assured that we will not lose the nuclear energy capability which has been achieved by the Iranian scientists, even if the Americans and others pressure us.
Technical talks on implementation of the November 24 interim agreement were suspended on Sunday for Christmas.
Iran and the 5+1 Powers are discussing the details of the plan in which Tehran will suspend enrichment of 20% uranium in return for the beginning of relief from US-led sanctions.