Iran: Negotiating at the dead-end

Iran: Negotiating at the dead-end

Negotiating at the dead-end

Analysis by PMOI/MEK

Iran, June 2, 2019 - Last Wednesday, Iranian regime President Hassan Rouhani once again defied expressive orders issued by the mullahs’ Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that any sort of negotiating is a fatal poison and raised the issue of negotiating with the U.S. in a manner as if it is America that needs to negotiate with Tehran.

“Whenever they come back to the negotiations table that they left in the first place, the path is open before them,” Rouhani said during a recent cabinet’s meeting.

Following the remarks of U.S. President Donald Trump in Japan, saying his country does not seek regime change in Iran, the internal disputes among the ruling elite in Iran have actually been escalating dramatically.

The Keyhan newspaper, known as Khamenei’s mouthpiece, accuses Washington of attempting to attract Rouhani, describing these measures as “Operation hunt the kingfish.”

“Flattering the idea of a referendum as a media celebrity and painting it as a public demand can deliberately put the government in the corner and render it into a tied up opponent in front of the U.S. In this deception operation, if the enemy manages to express its needs through Iranian authorities, it has practically hunted the kingfish,” the piece reads.

“When Rouhani himself describes negotiating with the promise-breaking-U.S. as stupidity, what good will it bring to have a referendum about negotiations? Is the issue with the lack of an agreement or a lack of respecting it? Why should we bring back the ball that is already in the court of the enemy to our court?” Keyhan further writes.

The Fararou website also posted a read with a few questions on this important subject titled, “Will the softening rhetoric of Trump in Japan will solve the problem?”

“While Trump’s reiteration of solving the Iran nuclear issue can be considering America backing off from [U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s] 12-point demands, it probably doesn’t mean that the U.S. has backed off from two issues: Containing Iran’s ballistic missiles and its regional influence. The possibility is high that Trump wants intends to initially enter the negotiations regarding the nuclear issue and begin raising other issues afterwards,” the piece reads.

According to UN Security Council Resolution 2231, the mullahs were supposed to abandon the development of long-range missiles with nuclear warhead capacities. However, they officially refrained from doing so and overtly boasted about their achievements in developing ballistic missiles.

Hamid-Reza Assefi, a former spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry during Mohammad Khatami’s tenure, rejected the idea of negotiations.

“Trump wants to present something and the best product for him is to say that I’ve negotiated with the Islamic Republic and brought Iran to the negotiating table. It’s not very important for him whether these negotiations yield results or not, because he will be the winner either way,” he explained.

The state-run Ebtekar newspaper acknowledges the isolation and pressures the ruling mullahs in Tehran face.

“The presence of Europe, Russia, China and the United Nations is less significant than ever before. It appears that Europe is either busy with the European Parliament elections or is deliberately pursuing the wait-and-see policy in this struggle. Considering the capabilities of both sides, maybe Europe intends to reach a clear evaluation of its final position. Russia has decided to keep a peaceful position, saying they are not the fire brigade. China, realizing the necessity to decrease economic tensions with the U.S., is criticizing U.S. warmongering in fits and starts,” the article reads.

Ali Bigdeli, a political pundit close to the Rouhani also weighed in.

“The [2015 Iran nuclear deal] is not the only disagreement our country has with the U.S. There are other serious disagreements. For example, Iran’s presence and influence in the region will be a challenge in the future. There is no doubt that this is only an excuse for Trump to open the door of negotiations in relation to other disagreements between the two countries,” he said in a recent interview with state media.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) is the source of terrorism and warmongering in the Middle East and across the globe.