Iran president argues negotiations prove Iran’s diplomacy, but as nations threaten to walk Ayatollah says US is ‘excellent example of global arrogance’

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

As nuclear talks between Iran and major world powers continued in Vienna, President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday Iran had “managed to amaze the world” with its nuclear talks with major powers.

In contrast, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted as saying the US was “an excellent example of global arrogance”.

Talks involving Iran, the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany continued through a 15th day, as a self-imposed Monday deadline approached. Diplomats said it remained unclear whether an agreement could be reached. Both the US and Iran have threatened to walk away.

According to the Nasim news agency, Rouhani said if the talks succeeded, the world would see that Tehran had solved its biggest political problem by negotiation and logical argument.

“Even if the nuclear talks fail,” he said, “our diplomacy showed the world that we are logical. We never left the negotiation table and always provided the best answer.

“Twenty-two months of negotiation means we have managed to amaze the world, and it’s an art.”

Iran’s state-run Press TV, meanwhile, said Khamenei called the US an “excellent example of arrogance” and told university students in Tehran to be “prepared to continue the struggle against arrogant powers”.



Even if Khamenei was not signalling that the talks had failed, his comments appeared to be a blow to US hopes that an agreement will lead to improved relations that could translate into increased cooperation in a common cause – the fight against Islamic radicals.

Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, hinted at just that last week, suggesting a deal acceptable to his country would open the door to joint efforts on that front.

Zarif and US secretary of state John Kerry met again Saturday, this time with European Union foreign policy chief Frederica Mogherini present. British foreign secretary Phillip Hammond and foreign ministers Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany and Laurent Fabius of France are also in Vienna.

On Saturday, Fabius said in a statement: “Now that everything is on the table, the moment has come to decide.”

Kerry spoke by telephone to Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. The Chinese and Russian foreign ministers have said they will travel to Vienna if a deal appears close.

On Friday, Kerry suggested that some progress had been made, telling reporters the “atmosphere is very constructive” but stressing that “very difficult issues” remained to be resolved. Since the start of the current round 15 days ago, he has said twice that the negotiations cannot be open-ended and warned that the US is prepared to call an end to the talks.

Any deal is meant to clamp long-term and verifiable restrictions on Iranian nuclear programmes that are technically adaptable to make weapons in exchange for sanctions relief for Tehran.

The scope of access to United Nations inspectors monitoring Iran’s nuclear programme remains a sticking point. The US wants no restrictions but Iranian officials say unrestricted monitoring could be a cover for western spying. Diplomats say Iranian negotiators have signaled a willingness to compromise, but hardliners in Iran remain opposed to broad UN inspections.

Another unresolved matter is Iran’s demand for a UN arms embargo to be lifted as part of sanctions relief, a stance supported by Russia and China but opposed by the US and some Europeans.

The current round of talks was supposed to conclude on 30 June, but was extended until 7 July, then 10 July and now 13 July. The sides had hoped to seal a deal before the end of Thursday in Washington to avoid delays in implementing their promises.

By missing that target, the US and Iran now have to wait for a 60-day congressional review period during which President Barack Obama cannot waive sanctions on Iran. Had they reached a deal by Thursday, the review would have been only 30 days.

Iran is unlikely to begin a substantial rollback of its nuclear programme until it gets sanctions relief in return.