I hope the West does not dissuade Iran from cooperation

Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly Ali Larijani said that Iran does not buy claims by the Americans that the US Congress is throwing obstacles in the way of the [Obama] administration when it comes to negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.

Fars News Agency (FNA) quoted Ali Larijani on November 20 as speaking in a national conference on strategies to materialize the Resistance Economy. The following is the partial translation of comments by Iran’s top MP in the gathering in the northeastern city of Mashhad:

The US Congress raises some questions, but it does not mean that we buy what they [the Americans] are trying to sell. They should not do anything which may discourage Iran from the path it has taken. Iran does not make its decisions based on what the US Congress says.

No one [in Iran] would accept the miscalculated remarks the US Congress makes and claims by the Americans that congress is creating obstacles in the way of the US government as far as its role in the nuclear negotiations with Iran is concerned.

This is an [internal] problem of the Americans and they are the ones who are supposed to solve this problem. You [the Americans] should not do something that may make Iran regret what it has already opted for: cooperation and interaction with the West.

I remember efforts by the Iranian MPs who proposed a motion to limit inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of Iran’s nuclear facilities. The MPs are defenders of the Iranian nation’s rights in parliament. But back then I asked them to show patience arguing we were cooperating with them. […]

Now that Iran has decided to have interaction with the West, they [the Americans] cannot go ahead in this path as they wish, regardless of Iran’s [national] interests.

We really hope to see the West acts wisely in the nuclear talks. We hope misconceptions do not make Washington step into the wrong path. […]