MOSCOW, November 25 (Sputnik) — Western countries will not be able to force Iran to sign the agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program on their terms, said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, adding the West has tried hard to “bring the Islamic Republic to its knees”, according to the Associated Press.
“On the nuclear issue, the United States and European colonialist countries gathered and applied their entire efforts to bring the Islamic Republic to its knees but they could not and they will not,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement, published on his website, as quoted by the US news agency.
A similar message has been posted on an English-language Twitter account, believed to be run by the office of the supreme leader, according to Reuters. The term “arrogants” used in the tweet is often employed to refer to the United States and their allies.
In the #nuclear issue, arrogants have made their best to bring #Iran to its knees but they were not able and will not be able to do so.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) 25 ноября 2014
The remarks come after a group of international mediators, known as P5+1, and Iran agreed to extend the negotiations regarding Tehran’s controversial nuclear program until July 1, 2015. The sides had previously agreed on a six-month interim deal with the aim to ink a comprehensive agreement by July 20, 2014. The talks were later extended until November 24, but world powers and Tehran failed to reach an agreement in Vienna.
P5+1 countries want Iran to curb its uranium enrichment activities fearing Tehran is trying to build an atomic weapon. Iran insists the peaceful program is solely aimed at accomplishing electricity and medical purposes.
The agreement will ensure that Iran’s program does not pose threat to the country’s neighbors, as well as the US and its allies. In exchange, P5+1 group promised to lift crippling international sanctions imposed on Tehran since 2006.
