Ali Larijani: Obama Wants Iran to Submit to Irrelevant Demands

The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Ali Larijani, accused U.S. President Barack Obama of seeking either the failure of nuclear negotiations between Iran and Western countries or Iran's submission to what he called 'irrelevant demands.' Larijani also stated that Obama, due to what he described as 'domestic weakness and troubles,' cannot make a 'wise' decision in response to the 'reasonable flexibility' of the Iranian government and people. According to the state news agency IRNA, Larijani, in his speech during a public session of Parliament on Sunday, February 1, referred to Obama's 'recent' remarks, adding: 'Representatives should pay attention to what the President of the United States said: 'We are putting pressure on Iran to accept America's views on the nuclear issue.' The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament emphasized: 'They say you must submit to our demands; where in the world is this called negotiation?' He stressed: 'It is clear that Mr. Obama, due to domestic weakness and troubles, cannot make a wise decision in response to the reasonable flexibility of the Iranian government and people and wants Iran to submit to irrelevant demands or for the negotiations to fail.' Larijani's remarks come as President Obama, in his annual address to Congress on Tuesday night, January 20, reiterated his opposition to adding sanctions against Iran, threatening to veto such actions. Obama emphasized his administration's commitment to resolving the nuclear issue of the Islamic Republic of Iran through diplomatic means. He also stated: 'There is no guarantee for the success of these talks, and he has all options on the table to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.' Nevertheless, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, January 29, approved a proposal stating that if negotiations between Iran and the six world powers regarding its nuclear program do not yield results by the end of June, sanctions on Tehran will be intensified. On Sunday, Larijani continued his remarks by saying: 'Mr. Obama must clearly understand that the Iranian people will not submit, and he is responsible for the failure of negotiations with this kind of wrong policy.' Larijani added: 'Mr. Obama has imagined that he can transfer the cost of his weakness in solving domestic problems to Iran.' According to IRNA, following Larijani's remarks, members of Parliament chanted 'Death to America.' Members of Iran's nuclear negotiating team have reported in recent weeks that the nuclear negotiations with the 1+5 countries have entered the 'details' phase. Abbas Araqchi, a member of Iran's nuclear negotiating team, stated on Thursday evening, January 29, after discussions with the deputies of the foreign ministers of three European countries, that 'the closer we get to the details, the more disagreements arise.' The Iranian negotiating team, led by Abbas Araqchi, met on Thursday morning and afternoon in Istanbul with their counterparts Hans Dieter Lucas from Germany, Simon Gass from the UK, and Nicolas de Riviere from France. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on January 26 that 'it is possible that a final nuclear agreement will be reached between Iran and the powers in the coming weeks,' but this agreement (from Israel's perspective) would be 'bad' and 'unacceptable.' Iran and the six world powers reached a six-month nuclear agreement last December, but the deadline for negotiations for a final agreement has since been extended. It has been agreed that the parties will reach a 'political agreement' by March and a final nuclear agreement by July 1.