February 12, 2014 (TSR) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and various officials dismissed US military threats against Iran, reiterating that the nation cannot be intimidated by the threat of increasing sanctions.
Addressing millions of Iranians participating in the rallies of Bahman 22 (February 11) marking the 35th Anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Rouhani said Iranians are not afraid of the sanctions imposed by the West against Tehran.
“Threats against Iran are worthless and childish. Unity and resistance against foreign colonialism made the Iranian nation victorious,” President Rouhani said.
Underlining the Iranian people active resilient resistance on different occasions, especially during and after the 8-year war and in the nuclear case, the president said that their revolution did not rely on any foreign power.
“No country, no superpower and no power –even when a bipolar system which governed the world in those eras – could help a foreign country triumph over us,” President Rouhani said.
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan also dismissed the United States’ military threats against the Islamic Republic as “very meaningless” threats to the Iranian nation when he addressed a gathering on Saturday to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
Dehqan warned Washington against the catastrophe that a military strike against Iran would entail for it.
“The Iranian nation and Iranians are always prepared to confront and has always been resisting against Western arrogant powers, and has never compromised with Imperialism”, the Iranian minister told the gathering in the holy city of Qom.
“Islamic Iran has taught all Muslims and world’s freedom-seeking people that the sole option against the caprice and the bullying of Western arrogant powers is resistance and steadfastness, and [proved that] true independence and freedom can be achieved only through this way,” he said.
Our National Missile Defense is non-negotiable
Iran’s ballistic missile program will not be discussed and non-negotiable in nuclear negotiations with world powers, the deputy foreign minister said in statements published Monday.
The remarks, made by Abbas Araqchi who is also Iran’s lead negotiator in talks with world powers, came a week before negotiations were to resume on a comprehensive accord over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
“Iran’s defense-related issues are not up for negotiations,” Araqchi said, according to media reports.
“We will not discuss any issue other than the nuclear dossier in the negotiations,” he added.
US lead negotiator in the talks, Wendy Sherman, last week told a U.S. Senate hearing that Iran’s ballistic missile program would be addressed in the comprehensive deal.
“The defense-related issues are a red line for Iran. We will not allow such issues to be discussed in future talks,” said Araqchi.
US officials have repeatedly threatened that despite the nuclear deal sealed with Tehran last November, the military action against the Islamic Republic was still on table.
On February 4, Dehqan warned against any military attack against the country, saying the Islamic Republic will give a crushing response to any such act of aggression.
“The Iranian nation has always proved through history that it is fully ready to defend the principles of the sacred Islamic establishment and will severely punish aggressors,” he noted.
Recently, Iran successfully test-fired its new missile, Bina (Insightful).
Iran, IAEA agree on Seven Steps
Iran struck an interim nuclear deal with world powers in November 2013 under which it agreed to roll back parts of its nuclear work in exchange for the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets and limited relief from crippling sanctions.
Iran announced on Sunday it has agreed with the UN nuclear watchdog on seven more practical steps regarding the cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tehran’s nuclear program.
“Seven more practical steps in regards to cooperation with the (International Atomic Energy) Agency was agreed” that need to be implemented by May 15, Iran’s envoy to the Vienna-based body, Reza Najafi said.
The remarks reported by Iranian media were attributed to a joint statement that came after two days of talks between five IAEA experts and Iranian nuclear officials led by Najafi.
No elements of the deal were publicized and Najafi reportedly said IAEA director general Yukiya Amano would brief the agency’s board of governors.
Describing the talks however, Najafi said “constructive technical meetings” had assessed “the progress in implementation of practical steps” that was required of Iran under a framework deal agreed on November 11.
The deal required Tehran to take six practical steps that included visits to the unfinished site of a heavy water research reactor in Arak and a uranium mine in the south.
Meanwhile, said Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said Parchin military site is not included in an agreement it struck on Sunday.
“Visiting Parchin is not included in the seven steps,” said Kamalvandi.
Talks on a comprehensive nuclear agreement are due to resume on February 18 in Vienna.
Iran’s 35th Islamic Revolution against Imperialism Celebrated
Millions of Iranians in Tehran and other cities throughout the country poured to the streets on Tuesday to show their unconditional support for the Islamic Republic through staging massive rallies on February 11th, marking the 35th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
Huge masses of people from all walks of life converged on streets and squares all over the country to express their support for the cause and ideals of the Islamic Revolution.
A large number of foreign reporters covered the Bahman 22 rallies.
In Tehran, demonstrators then congregated at the Azadi Square, Tehran’s main square and the site of major national rallies over the past three decades.
The nationwide rallies also prove to the world that the brave Iranian nation is fully ready to resist and challenge the enemies of Islam and the Islamic Republic.
Led by the Founder of the Revolution, Imam Khomeini, Iranians confronted the forces of US-proxy Mohammad-Reza Pahlavi in late 1977 to end his oppressive, cruel and autocratic rule over the country.
By December 1978, millions of Iranians would take to the streets in protest against the policies of the Shah on a regular basis.
Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from exile to Iran to be received by millions of cheering crowds after the departure of the Shah in mid-January 1979. Two weeks later, the country saw the victory of the Islamic Revolution.
The final collapse of the Shah’s regime came on February 11 when the military renounced its loyalty to the Shah and joined the revolutionary forces.
On its 35th year, the Iranians are commemorating and celebrating the collapse of the Pahlavi Dynasty and the emergence of the new era.
Source: Agencies
