LATEST: Supreme Leader’s Top Advisor “US Created Islamic State”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has reiterated the Rouhani Government’s determination to reach a comprehensive nuclear agreement with the 5+1 Powers, despite signs of trouble for the talks.

After meeting the European Union’s foreign policy head Catherine Ashton on Monday in Brussels, Zarif said Tehran is dedicated to consolidating the nuclear rights of the Iranian nation and lifting US-led sanctions.

Iran and the 5+1 (US, Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia) adjourned talks on July 18 in Vienna, agreeing to extend an interim arrangement until November 24 while discussions continued.

Iranian officials have said the negotiations will resume this month, first with bilateral talks with 5+1 members and then with a high-level summit; however, the plans have been hindered by the Supreme Leader’s criticism of negotiations, by new US sanctions, and by signs of tension between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Zarif reassured on Monday, “I hope with the readiness and political will that I see in all parties to this discussion to have a resolution within the next three months.”

The Foreign Minister’s statement echoed President Rouhani, who said in a news conference insisted, “There is nobody in Iran who is opposed to the nuclear negotiations”, and insisted the talks could reach a “win-win” outcome.

While Zarif sought momentum for the discussions, Deputy Foreign Minister Hassan Qashqavi maintained Iran’s criticism of sanctions, chiding the US for last week’s addition of more than 20 Iranian individuals, companies, and banks to its blacklist.

Qashqavi said the move, “clearly the continuation of the US administration’s already failed policies on Tehran”, harmed confidence ahead of the next round of negotiations.

Vice President Mohammad Baqer Nobakht declared on Sunday that the sanctions were not halting Iran’s economy recovery:

We estimate that by the end of the first six months of the current year [September 22], the economic growth will reach 1% and by the end of the year [March 20, 2015] it will rise to 2%.

Iran’s GDP fell by 5.8% in 2012-2013 and 1.9% in 2013-2014.

Supreme Leader’s Top Advisor “US Created Islamic State”

The renewed rhetorical assault on the US over the Iraq crisis reached the highest level of the regime on Monday, as the Supreme Leader’s senior foreign policy advisor accused Washington and its allies of creating the jihadist Islamic State.

Ali Akbar Velayati said Western governments and their regional partners were trying to create sectarian strife among Muslims and “to boost extremism”, with “deviant rebellious” groups “following in the footsteps of the terrorist Taliban” in Afghanistan.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the chairman of Parliament’s National Security Commission, reinforced the allegations:

No doubt the Americans should be blamed for the creation of the ISIL (Islamic Sgtate)and Takfiri terrorists and they have announced many times that they are supplying these people with training and weapons….

The Americans do not care for the beheading of thousands of people who are killed defenselessly and this is a crime which will be recorded in the history of humanity.