Larijani Accuses Rafsanjani of Discrediting Parliament Members

The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament described Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's remarks about the so-called "Delvapasan" group in Iran aligning with the Israeli Prime Minister as "an unfair and irrelevant comparison" and accused him of "discrediting" the parliament members. According to the state news agency IRNA, Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Parliament, on Wednesday, March 4, also urged parliament members and others to avoid raising "unrealistic issues" regarding Iran's nuclear file. The term "Delvapasan" has been used in Iranian media after a conference titled "We Are Concerned" held on May 2 of this year for critics of Iran's nuclear negotiations with the 1+5 group, most of whom are close to the Stability Front. On Wednesday, the Speaker also stated: "If some representatives have concerns about the nuclear issue, it is due to the importance of the subject and the protection of these national achievements. Of course, I am not worried due to the frameworks specified for the negotiations, and comparing these concerns of some individuals with the hostile behavior of the Zionist regime is an unfair and irrelevant comparison." He added: "The fact that representatives in the Islamic Consultative Assembly express their opinions freely is a prominent feature of our system and should not be discredited; however, both representatives and others in the country should avoid raising unrealistic issues...." Mr. Larijani emphasized: "There may be differences of opinion among respected parliament members regarding negotiation tactics, but... once the policies of the nuclear negotiations are specified by the Supreme Leader, as long as these frameworks are respected, the negotiators are supported by everyone." Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the Expediency Discernment Council, on Tuesday, March 3, referred to the internal critics' attacks on Iran's nuclear negotiating team, stating that the so-called "Delvapasan" group in Iran has become "aligned" with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel. He noted Netanyahu's visit to the U.S., adding: "Netanyahu threatens Obama in America, saying he will reveal confidential matters; in Iran, the Delvapasan say we will reveal secrets." Hours after Rafsanjani's remarks were published, some representatives from the Stability Front in Parliament, including Hamid Rasai and Mehrdad Bazrpash, reacted strongly to his comments. For instance, Hamid Rasai addressed Rafsanjani, saying: "You have been misleading the people about the results of the Geneva agreement for a year and a half, and today you are worried about the curtains falling." The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament also described Netanyahu's speech in the U.S. Congress as a "political show" and indicative of "the Congress of a great country being employed by a puppet regime." He added: "In all this noise and propaganda and the White House's disagreements with this matter, what significant point was there in Netanyahu's speech? An hour of repetitive slogans and applause from Congress representatives had what important message? It was truly surprising." Mr. Larijani stated: "If Israel is willing or if the U.S. Congress is interested, they should take military action to feel the crushing and comprehensive response of the Iranian armed forces." Netanyahu, in his speech on Tuesday, March 3, in the U.S. Congress, asserted that the nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic would not prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb, but rather would facilitate such an objective. Hours after this speech, Marzieh Afkham, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, described Netanyahu's remarks as "Iranophobic, a deceptive show, and part of the radical election propaganda in Tel Aviv." In another part of his speech, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament said: "Honorable representatives, you remember the first time in recent years that the U.S. requested negotiations with Iran regarding the nuclear issue was at the end of the previous administration when Oman was the intermediary, and after two or three rounds of negotiations, it was pursued in the new Iranian government." He added: "Therefore, they spread excessive talk that we brought Iran to the negotiating table due to sanctions pressure; they know they are lying, and they repeatedly requested negotiations." Larijani's reference was to the secret negotiations between Iran and the U.S. in Oman in the final months of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency. In this context, Hamidreza Asifi, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry during Mohammad Khatami's administration, stated on Tuesday regarding these negotiations: "The first secret talks with the U.S. took place during [the ministry of] Mr. Salehi and centered around his deputy for Europe and America with Mr. William in two rounds in Oman... Again, the view that the Leader had was that negotiations should be halted until the new government could carry it out based on its discretion, as this was at the end of Ahmadinejad's administration." The Associated Press reported in December 2013, citing unnamed sources, that Iran and the United States were engaged in high-level secret negotiations. Hillary Clinton, the former U.S. Secretary of State, also confirmed the existence of secret negotiations with Iran during Ahmadinejad's presidency in her book "Hard Choices."