Iranian Majlis Speaker Larijani: The West Set Middle East Ablaze, Has No Right To Discuss Its Security in Nuclear Negotiations

In a November 26, 2013 speech, Majlis speaker Ali Larijani scathingly criticized the West for what he called its pretended concern for Middle East security in its nuclear talks with Iran. He said that, contra to what the Western negotiating team implied, Iran poses no threat to Middle East security; rather, it is the West that jeopardizes Middle East security through militarily intervention in the region.

Larijani added that claims by Arab leaders that Iran poses a danger to the region are cowardly and unrealistic, and emphasized the religious common bond between Iran and the Arabs and his country's support for the struggle against Israel. He stated further that Iran has forgiven the Arab countries for supporting Iraq in its war against Iran in the 1980s, and accordingly he expects the Arab leaders to refrain from joining Israel against Iran and to view Iran as an anchor of regional security and stability.

Larijani attacked senior American officials who claimed, following the signing of the Geneva agreement between Iran and the West, that the agreement does not recognize Iran's right to enrich uranium on its territory. He reiterated Tehran's position, based on an erroneous interpretation of the NPT,[1] that Iran's right to enrich uranium is anchored in this treaty, and added that the Americans' post-agreement declarations on this matter contradicted their written and oral statements recognizing this right.

Below are the main points of his speech:[2]

Ali Larijani (image: Farsnews.com)

The West Has Destructive Nuclear Weapons But Seeks To Deny Iran A Civilian Nuclear Program

Larijani denied the Western claim that the sanctions had produced the Geneva agreement, and claimed that it was actually Iran's significant progress on the nuclear program and the Iranian people's display of resolve in the face of the sanctions that had compelled the West to accept Iran's nuclear program. He concluded: "These reasons, as well as the regional states' anger over the Western countries' hypocritical behavior, compelled the Western countries to retreat. While they possess the most destructive nuclear weapons, they wish to deny the Iranian people even civilian nuclear energy."

The West Undermines The Region's Security; Iran Strengthens It

Larijani continued: "In the nuclear discussions, some American and European leaders raised the topic of Middle East security, [ostensibly] out of concern for this issue. Their declarations are akin to those of a harlot who dons a skirt and goes around town complaining that 'there is not [even] a single modest woman in this town'." Addressing the Western leaders, he added: "You kindled the fire of insecurity in the eastern and western Middle East, and [now] you speak of regional security? Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Syria are consumed by the flames that you lighted... Everybody knows that the security of the Zionist regime is what concerns you. The other peoples of the region – particularly the Muslims – are of no importance to you.

"Iran, [on the other hand,] is a force for [regional] stability and it supports the security of all the region's countries. Iran's problem is with your intervention and your military raids on the region and your occupation of countries. You yourselves have realized the results of your mistaken conduct. Contra to what you said in the past, these measures did not eliminate terror but actually expanded it, and only undermined regional security."

The Arab Leaders' Claim That Iran Poses A Danger Is Unrealistic

Addressing "some of the region's leaders," Larijani said: "Don't be duped by the American administration and the oppressive Zionist regime. Iran is your sister. We all believe in the same Prophet and we are members of the same religion. We pray in the same qibla [prayer direction]. Over the years, some of you regional Arab countries supported the criminal Saddam [Hussein] in his attack against Iran. He attacked the Iranian nation with chemical weapons that the Western states had provided him, and you paid his expenses. The Iranian people, in its magnanimity, has forgiven this behavior, and stood by your side when that criminal [Saddam] attacked Kuwait.

"Iran provided the greatest assistance to the Palestinian people in order to restore the Islamic nations' dignity that was trampled upon for many years by the Zionist regime. Why should some Arab politicians' positions on the Iranian nuclear issue and the latest agreement [in Geneva] be identical to those of the oppressive regime [i.e Israel]?

"If the Zionist regime's shameless prime minister is worried [about the Geneva agreement], that is completely without significance or value. But your talk [about] the [impending] danger from Iran is most cowardly and unrealistic. We are [your] brothers, as we have always been. We are neighbors, and desire regional security and tranquility, so that the nations can advance towards progress and prosperity."

As An IAEA And NPT Member, Iran Has The Right To Enrich Uranium

"After the last [round] of negotiations, a few senior Western officials hastened to declare: 'We do not recognize Iran's right to enrich [uranium]'... This, when the issue of Iranian enrichment was noted both in the preamble [to the agreement] and in the [chapter] on the objectives [of the permanent agreement]. But the more important point is that [Iran's] right to enrichment does not, in principle, require [the West's] approval. All member states of the IAEA that have also ratified the NPT enjoy this right, even if they do not exercise it...

"Undoubtedly, in negotiations, both sides take measures according to logic and their [particular] capabilities, so as to pay the cheapest price possible. But the astonishing thing is the contradiction between what senior American officials said about enrichment before the negotiations, and after them. In oral and written statements, senior American officials recognized Iran's [right to] enrichment, as attested to by persons and existing documents. So why are they lying? Do you wish to run the world with such unreliability? Mr. Obama, it is this [kind of behavior] that causes distrust in the international arena, not Iran's conduct regarding civilian nuclear technology."

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