Naghdi: To Hell with Their Agreement, To Hell with Their Sanctions

On the last day remaining for Iran and the 1+5 group to reach a comprehensive nuclear agreement, the head of the Basij Organization in Iran described Western sanctions as "ineffective" and stated: "It's not that we want to look at whether they agree or not, to hell with their agreement and to hell with their sanctions." Concurrently, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also mentioned that "we feel fear in the existence of America and its political-military behaviors and negotiations." According to ISNA news agency, Mohammad Reza Naghdi, head of the Basij Organization, emphasized on Tuesday, December 3: "Those who are recognized as the 'big boss' are nothing and cannot control a vast market like the food market, but in the defense sector, producers of parts and raw materials are very limited... Nevertheless, we have seen the most and most astonishing progress in our defense industry." He continued: "There is no need for us to give our oil and receive facilities... It is us who can sanction them and paralyze them by closing our oil taps." He added: "Today, a large part of the oil and gas flow is under the feet of the soldiers of Imam Khamenei, and it is not that we want to look at whether they are imposing sanctions or not, to hell with their agreement and to hell with their sanctions." A day before Naghdi's remarks, a gathering was held by the Student Basij and several other groups in front of the Tehran Research Reactor building titled "No Stopping," where participants issued a statement urging the Iranian nuclear negotiating team to stand firm against what they called "America's excessive demands" and to mark December 3, 2014, as "National Resistance Day and a bright point in the history of Islamic Iran." Jawad Karimi Qodosi, a representative from the Stability Front in Parliament, also predicted on Sunday night at a seminar titled "From Sanctions to Humiliation, the Devil's Proposal Package" that Iran and the 1+5 group would not reach a comprehensive agreement. The IRGC commander also stated on Tuesday that "we feel fear in the existence of America and its political-military behaviors and negotiations, and America's submission to Iran is evident in all its behaviors." According to Tasnim news agency, Mohammad Ali Jafari emphasized: "All of Israel is under the cover of resistance missiles, and this means the fall of the Zionist regime; our war will lead to the liberation of Palestine." In recent days, alongside the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the 1+5 countries, media affiliated with the IRGC have published numerous reports about Iran's missile capabilities for "attacking Israel" and the missiles that the Islamic Republic has provided to armed Palestinian and Lebanese groups for attacking Israel. Sheikh Naeem Qassem, the deputy secretary-general of Hezbollah Lebanon, described Iranian missiles as "the only way to bring the war with Israel onto its soil" and reported on arming this group with Iranian-made "precision missiles." Mohammad Ali Jafari, the IRGC commander, also criticized some "elected" officials of the Islamic Republic who, according to him, only pay attention to the welfare, livelihood, and security of the people and do not consider "the components of Iran's national power." He stated: "Standing against the hegemonic system and not yielding to force is the component of our national power, not having oil." Concurrently with the remarks of these IRGC commanders, Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council and former commander of the IRGC, stated that whatever the results of the negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear file, it has been done with the support of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and "coordination of all revolutionary forces." According to Fars news agency, he added: "In the event of no results and a possible failure of the negotiations, the full responsibility lies with the Americans and some regional countries." Ismail Kowsari, a member of the National Security Commission of the Iranian Parliament and a former IRGC commander, also described the presence of the Saudi Foreign Minister in Vienna as "the humiliation of Saudi Arabia." Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi Foreign Minister, arrived in Vienna on Sunday morning and left the city a few hours later after negotiating with John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State.