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Monday, March 30, 2015
MEMRI: Tehran Has Not Backed Down On Any Part Of Its Initial Negotiating Positions; The March 31, 2015 Deadline Means Nothing To It

MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis Series | 1148 | March 30, 2015
Tehran Has Not Backed Down On Any Part Of Its Initial Negotiating Positions;
The March 31, 2015 Deadline Means Nothing To It
By: Y.Carmon and A. Savyon*

In light of their November 2014 failure to bridge the gaps and arrive at an
agreement, Iran and the P5+1 group together decided to extend the validity
of the November 24, 2014 Geneva Joint Plan of Action by an additional six
months, to June 2015.

Following this agreement, the U.S. planned a two-stage continuation of the
talks, as follows:

1. Three months (by the end of March 2015) to reach a framework
agreement

2. Three additional months (by the end of June 2015) to agree on
the technical specifications
of this agreement.

However, in a February 18, 2015 speech, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
announced that he completely disagreed with this procedure, and determined
that an agreement would be arrived at not in two stages but in one stage to
be completed by the end of June 2015, and that the agreement would include
the removal of all sanctions on Iran. This means that the March 31, 2015
deadline is completely unimportant to Khamenei.

The U.S. is disregarding Khamenei's announcement, and is attempting, without
success, to force Iran into the two-stage process that it set out. Iran is
refusing to sign any interim document, and for this reason Western foreign
ministers involved in the negotiations, such as U.K. Foreign Minister
Phillip Hammond, are saying that understandings which might be reached at
this stage will only be oral ones.

It should be emphasized that Iran has not backed down in any way, at any
stage, from the positions with which it began the talks:

1. Tehran rejects the removal of its enriched uranium from Iran.

2. Tehran rejects a gradual lifting of the sanctions.

3. Tehran rejects restriction of the number of its centrifuges.

4. Tehran rejects intrusive inspections and snap inspections.

5. Tehran rejects any halt to its research and development
activity.

6. Tehran rejects any change to the nature of its heavy water
reactor at Arak.

7. Tehran rejects any closure of its secret enrichment site at
Fordow.

8. Tehran rejects all restrictions to its nuclear activity
following the agreement's expiration.

9. Tehran rejects the inclusion of its long-range missile program
in the negotiations.

10. Tehran rejects reporting on its previous clandestine military
nuclear activity.

11. Tehran rejects allowing inspections of military sites
suspected of conducting nuclear activity.

In his February 18, 2015 announcement, Khamenei specified that he would
accept only a single-stage agreement, and that this agreement must include
the lifting of all sanctions on Iran and that it must clearly state that the
West may not take advantage of the framework agreement in order to force its
position on Iran in the second stage when the details are discussed.

The following is Khamenei's February 18 announcement about the nuclear
negotiations:[1]

"The hands of the Iranian nation and its senior officials were never tied,
and we have shown this to be so. From now on, we will also demonstrate this
with our initiatives and our courage. It is America that is stuck and
entangled in a problem, and the entire reality inside and outside the region
proves this.

"It is you [Americans] who have continually been defeated for these many
years; it is the Islamic Republic of Iran that advances, and can in no way
be compared to [to the Iran of] 30-some years ago…

"Iran is moving forward, while the Americans, who have not succeeded in
uprooting [the Islamic Republic of Iran], are now forced to tolerate the
regime of the Islamic Republic. Their political, security, economic and
cultural plans will not stop us from advancing...

"[In the nuclear negotiations,] I will accept an implementable plan, but I
will not accept a bad agreement. Like the Americans, I too believe that
failing to reach an agreement is preferable to a bad agreement, and I
believe that failure to reach an agreement is preferable to an agreement
that will damage Iran's national interests and pave the way for the
humiliation of the Iranian nation.

"The conduct of the U.S. in the negotiations, and of some of the European
countries that obey it, is illogical. Because of their many expectations,
they think all their demands will be met, but this is not how negotiations
work. The Iranian nation will not tolerate bullying, greed, and irrational
conduct. I agree to continue to advance in the negotiations in order to
arrive at a good agreement… The negotiations must maintain the honor of the
Iranian nation, and the advancement [of its nuclear program]...

"A scenario of agreement on general principles, and shortly thereafter
agreement on the details, is not recommended, because our experience with
the opposite side's conduct [in the negotiations shows] that a framework
agreement will serve [them] as a tool for inventing a series of excuses in
[the negotiations on] the details. If an agreement is to be reached, it must
be a single-stage agreement, and it must include the general framework as
well as the details. The agreement's content must be clear, and not open to
interpretation. The agreement's sections must not be such that the opposing
side, which is used to bargaining, will search for excuses on the various
issues. The sanctions must be completely removed."

Additionally, Khamenei threatens to impose natural gas sanctions, saying:
"If there are to be sanctions, the Iranian nation can and will also impose
sanctions."

*Y. Carmon is President and Founder of MEMRI; A. Savyon is director of
MEMRI's Iranian Media project.

[1] Leader.ir, February 18. 2015.

For assistance, please contact MEMRI at memri@memri.org.
P.O. Box 27837, Washington, DC 20038-7837
Phone: (202) 955-9070 | Fax: (202) 955-9077

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent,
non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle
East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background
information, are available on request.

MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with
proper attribution.

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