Today is a special day: President Rouhani

Today is a special day in the history of diplomacy of Iran and the world, President Rouhani said Wednesday after his Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif briefed the Cabinet on nuclear talks he held with P5+1 in Vienna earlier.

The following is the translation of a report aired by IRIB (Iranian state TV) on July 15 on the president’s comments:

Appreciating the efforts of his government’s diplomacy chief, the president said, “With God’s grace, we have arrived at a favorable point, yet no one should expect to have all their expectations met.

We went through extremely tough negotiations; even at times we were skeptical as to whether the talks would produce results, but we were always determined to forge ahead, and fortunately the talks turned out to be fruitful. This is an agreement that is a source of pride not only for us today, but for our children in the future.”

President Rouhani went on to say, “Holding talks with an ordinary country by itself is difficult, let alone talking to six world powers at the same time not for days but for months on end. What happened, at least in terms of the number of sessions and hours spent in conference rooms, is unique in the history of world diplomacy.”

Touching on how foreign officials have described the Iranian negotiating team, President Rouhani quoted EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini as saying that the Iranian negotiating team brought together seasoned and respected people.

Underscoring the importance of the stages that lie ahead, the president said, “Of course, the hard job of Mr. Zarif and his colleagues is to get started as of today.”

President Rouhani further said, “That Iran was deemed as a partner in negotiations and the wrong impression that we posed a threat to global peace and security was corrected is a great achievement by itself.”

In conclusion, the president expressed hope that the deal will clear the US Congress too.