On December 3, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif outlined the merits of the Geneva nuclear deal at a crowded Tehran University auditorium. “Those that are afraid of negotiations…that see themselves as too small, they think they are too weak. They don’t believe in the power of the people,” he told hundreds of students. Some hardliner students booed Zarif and criticized him for making too many concessions. But the majority of the crowd seemed supportive of the deal. Many students cheered for Zarif and reportedly shouted down jeering hardliners.
Zarif warned skeptics against listening to Washington’s claim that Tehran’s right to uranium enrichment was not included in the deal. He emphasized that Iran had not conceded its right and he challenged rejectionists to read the text of the deal for themselves. Zarif also reminded the audience that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave his full support to the negotiators and told Iranians not to call them “compromisers.” The following is a Press TV report on Zarif’s speech and excerpted remarks on key issues.
Nuclear Program and Negotiations
“Two points in the agreement refer to [uranium] enrichment, [stating] that there will be no solution to the nuclear issue without the enrichment [program].”
“Without enrichment, any solution to Iran’s nuclear issue would be impossible. We will continue our five percent enrichment. In case we decide to resume 20-percent enrichment, we can simply do it by turning on the taps between two cascades. And within 24 hours, we can enrich uranium at the 20 percent level.”
“We definitely don’t allow them [Western countries] to disrespect us in the [nuclear] negotiations. We truly hope [our] Iranian friends inside the country recognize this and do not say that the other party has disrespected us and that the negotiating team hardly survived. We need solidarity more than anything else with regard to this issue. We should not make any moves to counter the leadership’s [Khamenei’s] instructions… I am but a soldier of this (Islamic) system and the leadership.”
“They [Western countries] said that the word ‘enrichment’ does not exist within the text of the document. Yes, the word of enrichment is not in the White House fact sheet; but if your basis and reference is the White House fact sheet, instead of the text of the agreement that your friends [the nuclear negotiating team] signed… do as you please… and refer to that (White House fact sheet).”
“The Washington Post wrote that the White House lied in in the fact sheet it released, as it did not mention the right of enrichment that it had recognized… The White House had to respond to the Washington Post on why it had not told the Americans the truth, and now are you [students in the audience] are accepting the White House document [fact sheet] as proof?”
“Our policy in the field of nuclear energy is that we do not want weapons, and we consider it harmful to our safety.”
“I will stand up to the Western side, but I need your help.”
“With regard to Arak (IR-40 heavy-water reactor), it is obvious that construction will continue there.”
“Some are pushing to impose sanctions on Iran, and take other measures as well, but we should not underestimate our own abilities.”
“The international system does not impose decisions on us and we should recognize that we can impose our views on international state of affairs.”
“For eight years [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s presidency] – eight years – I heard all kinds of lies, things against me, mocking, and did not speak a word. I expected our friends to give us eight weeks of time [before criticizing again]…without us even going to the negotiating table, they had already said that we had lost.”
Foreign Policy
“In the sphere of foreign policy, we should put aside the disputes and replace them with rapport and friendship, because we are all aboard a single ship, if we are to succeed, we will succeed all together, and if we [are to] suffer harm, we will also suffer harm together.”
Israel
“Today, [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu cannot introduce Iran as a threat to the world and even in the White House no one buys his opinion.”
