Stop Fundamentalism – Following Istanbul P5+1 negotiation with Iranian authorities on the country’s nuclear program, Iranian officials continue to call on the west to call off the international sanctions on its oil and banking system. The sanctions were devised to force Iran to abandon its clandestine nuclear development which many believe has military aims.
The new additions to those who are calling for the cancelation are 22 Friday prayer Imams throughout the country. Friday Imams are installed by the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei and represent him in their assigned region.
Apparently the oil and banking sanctions that are scheduled to go in effect by July already have crippled Iran’s economy, forcing Iranian regime to be more flexible at the negotiating table with the west or at least pretend that it is more flexible.
Western diplomatic sources who are aware of the details of the negotiations reveal that Iran’s main concern during the talks was to postpone the sanctions going into effect.
In his meeting with Europe’s High Representative and Foreign Affairs Chief, Baroness Catherine Ashton, who headed the western negotiating team, Iran’s Chief Nuclear Negotiator Saeed Jalili, repeatedly (“may be a hundred times,” says the source) called for the postponement of sections. In response Ashton stressed that a cancelation or postponement is not realistic and she cannot make any decision in this regard.
Iranian Friday prayer Imams, who are known for instigating anti-western, anti-American rhetoric among regime’s supporters, in an orchestrated move called on the western countries to cancel the sanctions on Friday’s prayers throughout the country this week, showing that the call has come from higher up in the Iranian regime particularly, the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei himself.
“The west should cancel the sanctions against Islamic Republic of Iran,” said Tehran’s Imam, Jannati on Friday to a crowd of supporter gathered for prayers. This way, “the people of Iran will know that they don’t want to continue their enmity against them,” he added. “Insisting on sanctions will guarantee that the negotiations will fail.”
Similar calls came from other Imams asking the west to reconsider its policies regarding Iran.
A second round of negotiations is scheduled to take place in Baghdad next month.
The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has repeatedly stressed during recent days that the “window” of negotiations with Iran is rapidly closing and the west will not continue negotiating with the Islamic Republic indefinitely.
United States and European countries stress that they will not tolerate Iran armed with a nuclear weapon.
In the latest visit by the International Atomic Energy Agency which is United Nation’s nuclear watchdog, Iran refused to allow the monitors to visit “Parchin” which is a site IAEA says it has reasons to believe a nuclear trigger has been test there. The site is located inside a military zone and is sealed from public view.
A nuclear trigger has no civilian use and if the revelation is proved, it will show that Iran has been seeking nuclear arms all along.
