Deputy Speaker of Parliament: Only the Language of Power Can Be Used to Talk to America

A day after Iran and the 1+5 group decided to extend the nuclear negotiations, Mohammad Hassan Abutalebi-Fard, the first deputy speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran, on Tuesday, December 4, described the lesson of these negotiations as the "unreliability of America in the true sense of the word" and stated that "only the language of power" can be used to talk to this country. Mohammad Reza Bahonar, the second deputy speaker of Iran's parliament, also described America as "unreliable" and said that Iran "does not undermine the nuclear negotiation table." According to Fars News Agency, Mohammad Hassan Abutalebi-Fard, on Tuesday, December 4, in the absence of Ali Larijani as the head of the open session of parliament, stated in his pre-speech remarks: "Only the language of power can be used to talk to America, and the increase of power is only possible by relying on domestic capabilities, so officials should not seek national power with a view to outside the borders." Concurrently with these remarks from the deputy speaker of Iran's parliament, some conservative media in Iran also considered the extension of the nuclear negotiations deadline with the 1+5 countries until July 10, 2015, as a sign of "America's unreliability" and the "fruitlessness of negotiations with this country." For instance, the Kayhan newspaper headlined on the front page of its Tuesday, December 4 issue: "The leader was not trustworthy, sanctions were extended." These remarks come at a time when Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, following the seven-month extension of negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear program, emphasized to reporters that Tehran is striving to reach a "consensus" in the shortest possible time, stating, "I feel that to reach a political framework for an agreement or a comprehensive agreement or framework for an agreement, definitely four months will be needed." He added that looking back at what has happened, no one could even "wish for such conditions in reality" over the past year. In response to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's remarks about the continuation of sanctions during the new round of negotiations with Iran, the first deputy speaker of Iran's parliament said: "Firstly, everyone knows that the sanctions have not remained in place. The resilience of the Iranian nation forced America to see no way out of the impasse it has created except negotiation and to sit at the negotiating table accepting a nuclear Iran." John Kerry stated on Monday, December 3, that existing sanctions would remain in place during the new round of negotiations with Iran. Mr. Kerry added, "There has been significant progress in negotiations to achieve a comprehensive nuclear agreement, but despite the introduction of new ideas, discussions will remain in a difficult situation in the coming months." Alongside Mr. Abutalebi-Fard's remarks, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, the second deputy speaker of Iran's parliament, also stated that "it has become clear that America is not trustworthy," while adding that Iran's nuclear negotiations have questioned the "heavy project of Iranophobia." Iran and the 5+1 countries, on December 3, after months of negotiations and once extending the temporary Geneva agreement, concluded to extend it again until July 10, 2015.