Irandaily | No. 4459 | National

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Result of Almaty Talks, Positive

A senior official hailed the result of the latest round of talks between Tehran and the group of six major world powers as positive.
“It seems that the result of the meeting has been positive,” Ali Baqeri, undersecretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), said on Thursday, IRIB reported.
“The new proposal of the P5+1 group (Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States plus Germany) is closer to some of our views,” Baqeri added.
Iran and the P5+1 wrapped up their latest round of negotiations in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on February 27. Both sides have held several meetings on Tehran’s nuclear energy program.
Iran and the P5+1 agreed to convene in Almaty again on April 5-6 for the next round of negotiations after holding ‘expert-level’ talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul on March 17-18.
Baqeri said the details of the proposal should be further discussed at the Istanbul expert-level meeting.
The United States, Israel, and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.
Based on the false allegation, Washington and the European Union have imposed several rounds of illegal unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Iran rejects the allegation and argues that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is entitled to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Recognition of Rights
Meanwhile, a senior lawmaker said the only way for the West to resolve issues regarding Iran’s nuclear energy program is to continue negotiations on the basis of mutual understanding and recognize Iran’s basic rights.
“The only way to get out of the current situation is to continue negotiations based on the mutual consensus and recognition of the Iranian nation’s basic rights,” Chairman of Iran Majlis Research Center Kazem Jalali said.
Jalali further stated that the P5+1 group of world powers should acknowledge Tehran’s rights, noting that based on the experience of earlier talks, the West has to reevaluate and rectify its behavior.
He expressed optimism over the new change in P5+1’s approach in its negotiations with Iran, adding, “The other side’s assessment of the latest round of talks has also been positive.”

Sanctions Have Failed to Hinder Nation’s Progress

Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani downplayed the US-led sanctions on the Islamic Republic, saying that the embargoes have failed to hinder Iran’s progress.
“Iran has overcome various sanctions imposed by bullying powers throughout the 34 years since the Islamic Revolution, even during the Iraqi-imposed war in which the US was an active behind-the-scene player,” Larijani said in an interview with Indian press Thursday night during an official visit to New Delhi.
“We stood on our own feet and were able to defend ourselves,” Larijani said.
He further pointed to Iran’s outstanding geopolitical position, great human and technological potentials and rich energy resources as means to avert any further sanctions contemplated by bullying powers.
“The strategy of the Islamic Republic is on a clear course. We believe the era of bullying in the international arena has expired and we should respect different cultures. Some powerful countries are not willing to accept this unless they are forced to, and events that transpired in Afghanistan and Iraq serve as clear instances of this,” said the head of the Iranian legislative.

Sole Basis for Talks
Larijani further reiterated that issues relating to the nation’s nuclear energy program can only be resolved through principled talks based on Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) regulations. “We had mentioned from the beginning that Iran’s nuclear issue is based on NPT regulations and any negotiations on the issue must also stick to those rules since one cannot come up with new regulations for each country,” the top parliamentarian said. He further noted that certain western countries, however, ‘leave the negotiating table and seek adventurism’, adding, “Perhaps they view this as a tactic for coming up with an excuse to impose sanctions on Iran.”
He was speaking a day after Iran and the group of six major powers comprising the US, Russia, Britain, China, France plus Germany, known as P5+1, held another round of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear energy in Almaty, Kazakhstan following an eight-month hiatus in the talks.
Larijani added the West finally came to this understanding that the tactic of escaping from the negotiating table was ineffective.

War on Terror?
On the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, Larijani drew a link between the rise of terrorism and the presence of foreign forces in the country, mocking the US claim of fighting terrorism in the Muslim nation.
He further charged that western intelligence services play behind-the-scene roles in some terrorist activities, noting that former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who was herself killed in a terrorist bombing, also alluded to the issue of foreign involvement in local terror activities.
Larijani also pointed to the role of US-led forces in what he described as ‘a 40-fold increase’ in narcotics production and trade in Afghanistan since the occupation of the impoverished nation in 2001. He said prior to the invasion, only 200 tons of narcotics were being produced in Afghanistan, but that figure now stands at 8,000 tons.
Stressing peaceful coexistence among followers of various religious, he said the recent violence against Pakistani Shias is being provoked by ‘other systems’ that are not at all related to followers of other religions or schools of thought.
“I would definitely say that foreign intelligence services have a role in this extremism, particularly those countries that often brag about democracy,” Larijani asserted.
When pressed by a reporter to name the countries that covertly play a role in anti-Shia terrorism, he said, “I would specifically name the US and Britain.”
The Majlis speaker visited India at the head of a legislative delegation at the invitation of Indian Parliament Speaker Meira Kumar, who paid an official visit to Tehran in November 2011.

Afghan Extremism
The speaker cautioned against the resurgence of extremist groups in Afghanistan, calling for concerted effort by Iran and India to avert the growing threat.
In a meeting with speaker of the lower house of the Indian parliament, Meira Kumar, in New Delhi, Larijani pointed to the close views of Iran and India on global issues, adding, “A calm and stable Afghanistan is of high importance to both countries (Iran and India), but the prospect [for stability in Afghanistan] in not very bright.”
He added, “Some of the measures taken in Afghanistan over the past few months have been a setback.”
Larijani warned against any revival of extremism in Afghanistan as a result of clandestine negotiations with extremist groups and called on Tehran and Delhi to take ‘further strides’ toward resolution of this issue. The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across the country, despite the presence of tens of thousands of US-led troops. Larijani also pointed to the vast cultural commonalities between Iran and India and underscored the importance of cultural ties as an effective element for further expansion of mutual relations.
The Indian parliament speaker, for her part, underscored the importance of peace and stability in Afghanistan for India and expressed concern over the revival of terrorists and extremist groups in the country. Kumar also urged Iran to cooperate with India in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. She called for further enhancement of Iran-India ties and noted that the two countries’ mutual trade has the potential to exceed $16 billion.

Argentina MPs Approve Iran Deal

Argentinean lawmakers have approved an agreement with Iran to probe the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.
According to the agreement, approved by Argentina’s Congress on Thursday, an independent ‘truth commission’ would be established to investigate the attack.
“I am no one’s puppet. The country is no one’s puppet. We assume our political commitment and ask you to join that political commitment…. No country in the world has taken this case and put it on the table and many countries are using the AMIA case for their own geostrategic interests, “Argentina’s Foreign Minister Hector Timerman said at a Lower House joint meeting where he defended an agreement with Iran to probe into the AMIA bombing.
Argentina’s senate on February 21 gave the green light for the agreement with Iran on the AMIA case with the senators voting 39-31 in favor of the accord.
On January 27, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and Timerman signed a memorandum of understanding for the two countries in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to shed light on the 1994 bombing on the AMIA building in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people. AMIA stands for the Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina or the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association.
The Israeli regime reacted angrily to the deal a day after it was signed. Tel Aviv demanded an explanation for the move, but the request was strongly rejected by the Argentinean Foreign Ministry on January 30 as an ‘improper action’.
Argentinean President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Timerman have endorsed the agreement, which stipulates that the fact-finding commission, composed of five foreign legal experts, issue a report after carrying out an evaluation of Argentina’s investigation into the issue.
Under intense political pressure imposed by the US and the Israeli regime, Argentina had formally accused Iran of having carried out the bomb attack. The Islamic Republic has categorically denied any involvement in the terrorist bombing.

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