Making note of Israel’s existing, though undeclared, arsenal of nuclear weapons and pushing back against the steady stream of vitriol aimed at Iran amid ongoing negotiations over its civilian nuclear program, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday described the people of the United States and across the world as “too intelligent” to be taken by the “war-mongering” contained in remarks made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his high-profile visit to Washington, D.C. this week.
Speaking from Tehran, Rouhani indicated ongoing optimism following the latest round of talks between Iran and the P5+1 nations (the U.S., U.K., China, Russia, France, and Germany) which concluded in Switzerland on Wednesday. “The world is happy with the progress in the negotiations,” he said.
Though no agreement was finalized during the three-day summit in the Swiss town of Montreux, all sides expressed that progress was made despite the gaps between the parties that remain.
In his remarks, however, Rouhani continued by characterizing the Israeli government as an “aggressive and occupier regime” which stands alone in its opposition to reaching a peaceful settlement. Israel is angry with the talks, he said, “because it sees its existence tied with war and occupation.”
Click Here: Cheap Chiefs Rugby Jersey 2019
But, he said, “People of the world and America are too intelligent to take advice from such a war-mongering regime … which has pursued, produced and stockpiled a large number of atomic bombs in violation of international laws and away from the eyes of international inspectors.”
In a New York Times op-ed published Wednesday, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gholamali Khoshroo, echoed some of Rouhani’s sentiments as he repeated Iran has no ambitions or plans to shift its civilian nuclear program to one geared towards weaponization. “Despite extensive inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, no evidence has ever been presented to contradict the clear commitment by Iran’s leaders that they would under no circumstances engage in manufacturing, stockpiling and using nuclear weapons,” Khoshroo wrote. “Yet, in his speech this week, Mr. Netanyahu claimed the agency had determined that Iran had ‘a military nuclear program.’ This is a gross distortion of the agency’s position.”
He continued:
The paradox of the situation is that a government that has built a stockpile of nuclear weapons, rejected calls to establish a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the Middle East, made military incursions into neighboring states and flouted international law by keeping the lands of other nations under occupation, now makes such a big fuss over a country, Iran, that has not invaded another country since America became a sovereign nation.