Nov 3, 2014

Ali Khorram, the senior adviser to lead nuclear negotiator and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, told Reformist Shargh Daily that the Geneva interim nuclear deal was "indebted" to the United States and after 35 years, it is time for Iran to address the storming of the US embassy in Tehran and taking of American hostages in 1979.

On the first interim nuclear deal signed in Geneva in November 2013, a breakthrough deal that ended nearly a decade of international tensions over Iran’s nuclear program, Khorram said, “In my opinion, the agreement in Geneva was more indebted to America’s amicable attitude,” using a word that is often translated into English as “friendly.”

Khorram said that during those talks, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was “completely displaying Israel’s positions” by taking a hard line. According to Khorram, “It was the Americans who stood in front of the French and were able to reach an agreement.”

When asked about the anniversary of the takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran on Nov. 4 and the holding of American hostages for 444 days, Khorram said, “From the view of the Americans, this is an old wound,” and that Americans “cannot ignore” what happened. He said that Presidnt Hassan Rouhani's adviser Hamid Abutalebi not being granted a visa to serve as Iran’s UN ambassador shows that the hostage crisis is still a point of sensitivity.

Khorram said that it was time to “resolve” the issue and suggested “discussion and review” by officials to reach a conclusion by which this “pain” between Iran and the United States is removed.