Iranian MPs Rule Out Talks with US Ahead of Abe’s Visit

Japanese daily Mainichi has reported that Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe is going to meet with Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in his visit to Tehran this month. Media reports speculate that the landmark visit, slated for June 12 to 14, is aimed at helping encourage dialogue between Iran and the US.

However, Iranian parliamentarians have rejected any prospect for direct talks with the US as long as there is not a fundamental shift in Washington’s policies.

In an interview with ILNA, Vice Chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Kamal Dehghani Firoozabadi said, “I believe that there will be no talks (with the US) in spite of this visit (to Iran by Abe).”

Pointing to the US previous proposals for direct talks with Tehran, the MP said, “We are not a country that would retreat under pressure, threats and sanctions.”

Iran has always adopted a logical policy, and this is the Americans who must rectify their stances and policies, Firoozabadi added, stressing that there is basically no need for any message or any mediator, because the US “must correct its stances in the international arena and towards the bilateral and multilateral treaties.”

In separate comments, member of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Hossein Naqavi Hosseini has told Tasnim, “The Islamic Republic of Iran’s negotiation with the US will be a lose-lose game under any circumstances.”

Denouncing the US policy of “carrot and stick” towards Iran, the lawmaker said, “On the one hand, Americans impose the harshest and toughest sanctions on the Iranian nation, and on the other hand, they call for negotiations without preconditions. Such behavior is not acceptable at all.”

Naqavi Hosseini also urged the Iranian administration to learn lessons from the nuclear talks and the US decision to walk away from an agreement that had been hammered out after long and laborious talks, stressing that the US must first honor its commitments under the JCPOA in order for any new talks to take place.

“Before setting conditions for negotiations with Iran, Americans must answer the question why they exited from the JCPOA,” he noted.

Senior authorities of Iran have time and again dismissed the idea of direct negotiations with the US under the current circumstances, stressing the need for resistance in the face of American sanctions.

In remarks in mid-May, Ayatollah Khamenei ruled out any negotiation with the US as long as Washington sticks to its hostile approach against the Islamic Republic, saying Washington would be attempting to undermine Iran’s “points of strength,” such as its defensive power or its strategic regional influence, in any such interaction.