Iranian Regime Celebrates Its Victory In The Nuclear Agreement
MEMRI/September 4, 2015 Special Dispatch No.6150
After Iran and the P5+1 announced the JCPOA on July 14, 2015, top Iranian officials, headed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said that the country was a superpower with standing equal to that of the U.S., and that this status would become even stronger because of the agreement. They boasted of Iran’s might and said that it had forced the superpowers to surrender to it and its demands.
Following are highlights from these statements:
Iranian Defense Minister: The Superpowers Surrendered To Iran And “Obeyed The Iranian Rights”
At an armed forces general command ceremony on August 30, 2015, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said: “Today, Iran has attained such status that the superpowers have surrendered to it, because of its majesty, its steadfastness, its resistance, and its unity. Despite their great pride, the regime of the arrogance [the West, led by the U.S.] sat humbly behind the negotiating table and obeyed the rights of the Iranian nation.”[1]
Leader Khamenei: “Those Who Levelled Sanctions Against Us Yesterday Are Dying Today – Because Iran Has Become The Region’s Foremost Military Power”
On August 24, 2015, the website of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei published a poster titled “The Iron Fist,” symbolizing Iran’s might following the agreement. The text on the poster states: “Those who levelled sanctions against us yesterday are dying today, because Iran has become the region’s foremost military power. The Islamic Republic of Iran has proven that it works diligently to defend itself. The entire nation unites as a solid fist, standing fast against the aggressors who lack all reason.” The poster features a fist adorned with Iranian flags breaking through clouds; the fist is made up of military equipment, including missiles, jets, ships, tanks, and so on.[2]
IRGC Website Javan: “Iran Is Becoming A Power… Equal To America In The World”
On July 15, 2015 the Javan website, which is affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), claimed that Iran has become a superpower with standing equal to that of the U.S., and that this is why the U.S. agreed to conduct a dialogue with Iran in nuclear talks: “In his speech following the agreement between Iran and the P5+1, Obama stated: ‘This deal is also in line with a tradition of American leadership. It’s now more than 50 years since President Kennedy stood before the American people and said, “Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.” He was speaking then about the need for discussions between the United States and the Soviet Union.'[3]
“This speech clearly shows the sunset of American power and that [the U.S.] has been downgraded from a superpower to an ordinary power. First, Obama considers diplomacy and negotiations to be America’s leadership tradition, while its record indicates that since it emerged in the international arena during World War I, it has chosen no path but military force. The wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the dozens of other crimes in Latin America show that America’s leadership tradition has never been diplomacy. Superpowers see themselves as too big to waste their time in negotiations and diplomacy with third-world or smaller countries. They are used to determining how others should behave by waving their finger, and fulfilling their interests by way of military assault. America’s diplomatic record includes several rounds of talks with the former Soviet Union. Therefore, we can say that from World War II to 1990, America’s leadership tradition championed diplomacy or negotiations only vis-à-vis powers of equal standing…
“Obama’s statements defending negotiating with Iran can lead to one of two conclusions: Either America views Iran and its deterrence as equal to those of the former Soviet Union… or America does not have the status it once did… “What has happened now is that the U.S. Secretary of State [John Kerry] has abandoned all his duties and his life to negotiate with Iran – to haggle, to capitulate, to call on the Europeans to help in the talks, and he does not consider Iran to be like Vietnam, Korea, Afghanistan, and Iraq. So what really happened here?
“In his televised speech on April 5, 2015, following the Lausanne agreement, Obama said that of the three options – attack, sanctions, and negotiations – he saw no other option but negotiations, and even before that he said, ‘If I could have, I would have dismantled Iran’s entire nuclear [project].’ The other side of the ‘if I could have’ coin is ‘I can’t.’ How can we understand this ‘I can’t?’ After all, America has a military presence in 50 places around the globe, including in the Persian Gulf…
“America’s conduct in the absence of the Soviet Union shows that Iran is becoming a power that is second to, or even equal to America in the world. [Therefore,] America does not have the courage to attack it militarily or even to conduct bilateral talks [with it], so it is being helped by three European countries [France, Britain, and Germany].
“It is not unreasonable that America believes that our military capabilities do not surpass its own, but it fears [Iran’s] soft power, which is stronger than military bombardment… This soft power has two main avenues: an covenant between the nation and the Imam [Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini]… and an alliance with the countries of the region [that is based on] emotion and faith. The Iraqi nation is an example of this alliance; there, America sacrificed 4,400 troops and ousted Saddam [Hussein], but the friends of the Islamic Revolution [of Iran] sat on Saddam’s throne and did not in any way allow [the Americans] to seize power there. This soft power cannot carry out a military assault, which is why the Islamic Revolution’s increasing might has caused America to transform itself, due to fear, from a stupid enemy into a relatively clever one.”[4]
Senior Khamenei Advisor In IRGC: Nuclear Agreement Will Improve Iran’s Status And Might
Yadollah Javani, senior advisor to Khamenei in the IRGC, wrote in the July 27, 2015 editorial of the IRGC weekly Sobh-e Sadeq: “Will war break out between Iran and America? This cannot be decisively answered with a yes or no. But we can prove that in past years, the U.S. was incapable of carrying out, and could not work up the courage to carry out, a military assault on Iran. In the past decade, the Americans and Zionists have repeatedly threatened to attack Iran, but due to their deep concerns regarding the implications of a possible war against [Iran], they have not followed through with their threats… Therefore, American officials announced that Iran’s nuclear dossier would only be resolved by diplomatic means.
“After the [April 2, 2015] Lausanne statement, U.S. President Obama announced that war or increased sanctions would not subdue Iran or destroy its nuclear industry. Throughout all these years the Americans threatened to attack Iran militarily, but both they and others, including the Iranian nation, knew full well that this threat was mainly psychological warfare, and that America could not start another war in West Asia.
“With its record of empty military threats, the Americans once again began to boast about the issue of a military assault on Iran, after the conclusion of the Vienna talks and the signs of an emerging nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1. The military threat has come from Obama, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, and other American officials in recent days; they have all stressed the option of military force against Iran in the future…
“So far the Americans have not attacked, because of Iran’s deterrence, which is steadily increasing. A decade ago, the Americans were stronger than they are today, and the Islamic Republic of Iran was weaker. In the past decade, the power of America and its allies in the region has eroded, while the power of the Islamic Republic and its allies has only increased. Therefore, the regional upheavals during the past decade have worked in Iran’s favor, and to the detriment of the U.S.. Thanks to the nuclear agreement, this process will not take a turn for the worse for Iran, but could only add special might to it.
“This is precisely the cause of the concern regarding the nuclear agreement that has been expressed by officials of the Zionist regime and of America’s other allies in the region, such as the Al-Saud regime. Therefore, the boasting by America, following the acknowledgement of a nuclear Iran by the agreement between Iran and the P5+1, comes from necessity, and reflects America’s attempt to maintain the façade of its status as a world superpower.
“However, the truth is that the time of this superpower has passed, and America must accept the facts of the new world. The world’s balance of power is shifting, and a new international political order is being shaped. [This new world order] includes the acknowledgement of a nuclear-fuel-cycle-Iran with decisive deterrent capabilities in the region by the world’s six main powers…”[5]
Endnotes:
[1] Tasnimnews.com (Iran), August 30, 2015.
[2] Farsi.khamenei.ir, August 24, 2015.
[3] Whitehouse.gov, July 14, 2015.
[4] Javan (Iran), July 15, 2015.
[5] Sobh-e Sadeq (Iran), July 27, 2015.
Saudi King meets Kerry before White House summit
By Staff Writer | Al Arabiya News/September 04/15 http://english.alarabiya.net/en/special-reports/king-salman-visit/2015/09/03/Saudi-U-S-summit-to-discuss-regional-issues.html
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman met on Thursday with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry ahead of his meeting with President Barack Obama later today. The two met at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, adjacent to Washington. Obama is due to host King Salman in their first White House summit on Friday. The focus of the summit-level talks will be on Iran’s nuclear deal, international involvement in Syria, Yemen, terrorism and bilateral cooperation, officials and analysts have indicated. It will be King Salman’s first visit to the United States since ascending the throne in January this year. The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir met with United States Secretary of State John Kerry at the headquarters of the U.S. State Department in Washington on the eve of the visit.
The meeting came within the framework of continuing consultation and coordination between the two countries on bilateral relations. They discussed the latest developments at regional and international arenas, according to the state-run Saudi News Agency.
Speaking to Al Arabiya News channel, Ben Rhodes, the Deputy National Security Advisor, said: “This is an important visit at an important time with the many developments in the region where we have a shared interest with Saudi Arabia and with the recent conclusion of the Iran deal.”
Iran and Syria
He added: “The nuclear deal is one specific issue. I think that what we’ve always acknowledged is a country like Saudi Arabia, or other Gulf States, other countries in the region, are concerned about what Iran might do with additional sanctions relief. If Iran’s economy improves, are they going to be more belligerent in their activity’s in the neighborhood? And we want assure these countries that even as we are implementing the nuclear deal, we’re going to be able to work cooperatively, to address what we are very concerned about.”
VIEW MORE: U.S. spokesperson: Iran nuclear deal tops agenda as King Salman visits U.S. When you look at a situation like Yemen, you’ve had Iranian support for the Houthis. If you look in Iraq, we want make sure that any Iranian influence in Iraq does not contribute to splitting the country apart. But rather, we are all pushing in support of the Abadi government and holding the country together.
Ben Rhodes, U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor
On Syria, Rhodes told Al Arabiya News Channel that the continuous support for the Assad regime is an “obstacle to the peace and stability the people Syria deserve.” “So, what we’re signaling very strongly is just because we’re doing this nuclear deal does not mean there’s a broader alignment with Iran. The nuclear deal is meant to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon. At the same time, we’re going to continue to have differences with many aspects of Iranian policies in the region,” he said. Al Arabiya’s contributor Patrick W. Ryan said the importance of the symposium is exemplified by the opening panel lineup: Ministers of Finance, Commerce and Industry, and Health and the Governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority. Both sides are clearly open for business and working hard to expand trade and investment.
Top-level attention
The top-level attention to business ties comes at a time of increasing pressure on economies as the global energy market remains in the doldrums amid over-production and key consumers’ slowdowns. Ben Rhodes said “I wouldn’t suggest that it was going to be foremost on the agenda it will be a routine matter, as it frequently is in these meetings.”Al Arabiya’s contributor Sigurd Neubauer said the leaders will discuss “steps to counter Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said last Thursday. As well as “ways to further strengthen the bilateral relationship, including our joint security and counterterrorism efforts.”
