Salami: If the U.S. Demands More, Negotiators Should Hand Over to the Military

Hours after the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic's strong attack on the United States, the deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) advised the Iranian nuclear negotiation team to abandon negotiations and hand over the field to the military if the U.S. engages in 'excessive demands' and 'political superiority.' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei emphasized on Wednesday, May 6, that he does not agree with negotiations that occur 'under the shadow of threats' and urged the Iranian negotiation team not to submit to any imposition, force, humiliation, or threats. Following this stance, on Wednesday evening, Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of the IRGC, recommended that the Iranian negotiators present themselves in negotiations with the P5+1 group 'calmly, with dignity and confidence' and not accept any agreement that 'diminishes the dignity of the Iranian nation.' According to Tasnim News Agency, he added, 'If the U.S. speaks with intimidation and humiliation, they should leave the field and hand it over to us to talk to them in their own language.' Salami emphasized: 'If they see that the Americans are again pursuing political superiority with language of intimidation, threat, or humiliation in negotiations, they should leave the negotiation field and leave this matter to us to determine the situation with them in a threatening atmosphere and continue the work.' Joe Biden, the U.S. Vice President, referred to an attack on Iran as 'risky' and stated that it 'might still be accepted' by the U.S. Earlier, Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned Tehran that despite Moscow's decision to transfer the S-300 missile system to Iran, the military option to prevent Tehran from 'acquiring nuclear weapons' remains viable. In response, Salami warned the U.S. that the Islamic Republic has built power for 'long-term wars with a real possibility of victory.' According to ISNA, he added, 'We warn their pilots that... no one will return safely, and they should name their flights as the last flight.' Meanwhile, Ali Akbar Velayati, the Supreme Leader's advisor on international affairs, responded to a question about whether Iran should leave the negotiation table after the Supreme Leader's remarks, saying, 'No, it is not like that; he also said that the negotiators should continue their negotiations while respecting the outlined red lines, but they should not submit to American threats at all.' The Supreme Leader asked the Iranian negotiation team to 'carefully observe the main red lines' in negotiations with the P5+1. Khamenei did not mention any potential new red lines for the Islamic Republic, but on July 7, 2014, he identified 'enrichment capacity,' 'research and development,' and 'Fordow facilities' as three important issues in Iran's nuclear bargaining with the P5+1 group. Meanwhile, Mohammad Ali Jafari, the IRGC commander, stated on Saturday, April 11, that the Islamic Republic's red lines in technical discussions were accepted in the Lausanne nuclear agreement. In recent weeks, Iranian military officials have named inspections of military sites as a red line and emphasized that they will not allow inspections of these sites. However, Abbas Araqchi, a senior member of the Iranian nuclear negotiation team, on Tuesday evening, May 4, in a different televised statement did not rule out the possibility of inspections of Iran's military sites, stating that 'potential' inspections would be 'managed' according to the Additional Protocol of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Meanwhile, the state news agency IRNA criticized the 13 questions posed by the Iranian state television host to Araqchi about the potential inspections of Iran's military sites, accusing him of wanting to 'reach the desired answer or not knowing the sensitivity of the subject he should have been interviewed about.'