Iran: The US Approach in Negotiations Could Positively Impact Future Cooperation

Hosseini Amirabdollahian, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs, stated that the US approach to Iran's nuclear negotiations could have a positive impact on future cooperation between Iran and the US. In an interview broadcast on CNN on Monday, July 6, he expressed that Iran has 'bitter memories of the US' since the 1979 revolution. However, Amirabdollahian described the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group as a historic opportunity for the US, stating, 'If the US acts wisely and rationally in these negotiations, we can say that this country has left a positive impact among the Iranian people.' He added, 'It is obvious that if the actions and behavior of the US are positive and constructive, it can have a positive impact on future cooperation between Iran and the US.' The negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 continue in Vienna, with the deadline for reaching a comprehensive and final agreement on Tehran's nuclear program ending on Tuesday, July 7. Following the attack by 'students following the line of Imam' on the US embassy and the hostage-taking of its staff in November 1979, relations between Tehran and Washington were severed. In another part of the interview, in response to a question about future scenarios in Syria, he clarified, 'We are not seeking for Bashar al-Assad to remain a lifelong president in Syria, but we also do not welcome the idea that terrorists or some foreign parties determine the future of the Syrian people.' Iran is considered the main supporter of Bashar al-Assad's regime in the Middle East. The Islamic Republic claims to support the Damascus government financially and by providing military advice. Meanwhile, there have been numerous reports regarding the organized dispatch of Basij and IRGC members to Syria in the form of 'Defenders of the Shrine' battalions and the deaths of Iranian military personnel in these conflicts, with their bodies being buried in various cities in Iran, to which Islamic Republic officials have not responded clearly.