Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 5
By Dalga Khatinoglu, Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu made a speech in the US Congress on March 3 saying that a deal under discussion on Iran's nuclear program could "pave Iran's path to the bomb" rather than block it.
His speech raised criticism both inside and outside the United States. US President Barack Obama said that Netanyahu had offered no viable alternative. Other senior Democrats and Iranian officials also criticized Netanyahu.
Iranian MP, Abbas Ali Mansouri Arani, who is a member of the parliament's national security and foreign policy commission, believes that since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Israel has portrayed Iran as a dangerous and anti-peace country.
However the Islamic Republic's approach, particularly in the last year's nuclear negotiations, indicates that Israeli claims are not a true reflection of reality, Mansouri Arani told Trend March 5.
Iran and the P5+1 (the US, the UK, Russia, China, France and Germany) are aiming to reach a political understanding by March 31 in the run-up to a comprehensive deal by July 1 deadline.
After the sides failed to meet the November 24, 2014 deadline they also extended the Geneva nuclear deal, which was signed in November 2013 to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Tehran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities.
Coinciding with the conclusion of the latest round of the talks March 4, Netanyahu said in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC),"Iran envelops the entire world with its tentacles of terror".
Iran's Mansouri Arani countered with the view that Israel is speaking from a position of isolation and is the main looser of the nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1.
Israel has always tried to introduce Iran as a country which violates international norms, the MP said, adding the Islamic Republic's nuclear negotiating team has explained Iran's legitimacy in words and practice in the period of negotiations with P5+1.
"Today we see that Israel is drawn into isolation, " Mansouri Arani argued.
He further said that Israel spreads Iranophobia in the world because it needs such a position to continue to maintain its existence.
"But worldly people and governments are aware of Israel's tricks," the MP said.
Another member of the parliament's national security and foreign policy commission Mohammad Esmaeili also told Trend that the Netanyahu's approach is doomed to fail.
While commenting about the latest round of nuclear talks, Mansouri Arani said that negotiations are proceeding satisfactorily in technical and legal terms.
At the end of three days of intense nuclear negotiations in the Swiss town of Montreux on March 4, the United States said tough challenges remained to seal a nuclear deal with Iran.
"We've made some progress from where we were and important choices need to be made," Kerry told reporters after the talks, with a senior State Department official adding that "tough challenges" had yet to be resolved.
Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif also confirmed progress, adding there is still a lot of work that should be done.
However, it seems that hopes to resolve the disputes over the Islamic Republic nuclear program is much more than before both in Iran and the P5 + 1.
The US and its Western allies suspect Iran of developing a nuclear weapon - something that Iran denies.
Edited by CN