Valiati: Missile Issues Will Not Be Discussed in Negotiations with 1+5

The head of the Strategic Research Center of the Expediency Council of Iran, Ali Akbar Velayati, denied on Monday, December 15, reports regarding the dilution of a portion of Iran's enriched uranium and an agreement to address the country's missile activities in negotiations with the 1+5 group. He also stated that the extension of nuclear talks has nothing to do with Iran and that 'the United States' requested the extension of these negotiations. According to Tasnim News Agency, Velayati, in response to a question about the statements of Mahmoud Nabavian, a representative from Tehran in the parliament, considered addressing Iran's missile activities in negotiations with the 1+5 group as a 'false dream of the West' that, according to him, 'will never come true.' He added, 'The most important characteristic of missiles is their deterrent capability, and Iran does not need permission from anyone to strengthen its defense.' Mahmoud Nabavian, a representative from Tehran and a close associate of Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi, recently claimed in an interview with the Rajanews website, without mentioning the date and location, that Wendy Sherman, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, stated to reporters that Mohammad Javad Zarif and Abbas Araghchi 'have signed' to address Iran's missile activities in negotiations. The state news agency IRNA, on Saturday, December 13, quoted an unnamed member of the Iranian nuclear negotiating team as saying that Nabavian's statements were 'incorrect' and posed a 'serious' threat to the country's national security. Velayati also stated that the 'claim' made by the Associated Press regarding the dilution of Iran's uranium 'is not true at all.' The Associated Press reported on Thursday, December 4, that members of the Obama administration told several congressional representatives that the U.S. had obtained significant concessions from Iran, including the Islamic Republic's commitment to more inspections of nuclear facilities and neutralizing larger amounts of Iran's uranium resources. Reuters reported on Monday, December 1, citing a diplomatic source, that based on a seven-month extension of Iran's nuclear negotiations with the 1+5 group reached on December 3, the Islamic Republic had agreed to convert an additional five kilograms of its uranium oxide reserves into nuclear fuel each month. Velayati further stated that the extension of nuclear negotiations with the 1+5 group 'has nothing to do with Iran, and the Americans requested the extension of negotiations.' He added, 'The request for an extension of negotiations from the Americans was even unexpected for their allies, and they were unaware of why the Americans halted negotiations that were moving toward forward steps at the last moment.' Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the parliament, reported on Tuesday, December 9, quoting Abbas Araghchi, a member of the Iranian nuclear negotiating team, that the nuclear negotiations with the 1+5 countries in Muscat were going 'badly' and that the Iranian negotiating team was considering 'ending the negotiations.' Velayati also emphasized on Monday that others must acknowledge Iran's power in the region, stating, 'Our current power was unimaginable for anyone in the world because Iran has influence from Yemen to Lebanon.' In this context, Alireza Zakani, a parliament member, referred in October to the capture of Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi's group as the 'fourth capital' conquered by Iran, stating that 'today the Islamic revolution controls three capitals of Arab countries.' Meanwhile, Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, stated on Monday, October 20, that 'all efforts against Islam, Iran, and Shiism will fail.' Ali Saidi, the representative of the leader in the Revolutionary Guards, also stated on Thursday, October 16, that Iraq, Syria, Bahrain, and Latin America are the 'strategic depth' of the Islamic Republic of Iran, asserting that 'we have no right to lose a single point of this depth to avoid compromising Iran's security.'