Basij Commander Rejects Rumors about Tehran-Washington Talks

Commander of Iran’s Basij (volunteer) force Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi rejected the recent media reports about direct talks between Iran and the US, stressing that Tehran continues pursuing the same stance on the US that was declared by the late Founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini.

“Our stance vis-à-vis (establishing) relations with the US is exactly what the later founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini said which was we would never establish ties with the US,” the commander said, addressing the demonstrators marking the anniversary of the 1979 US embassy takeover here in Tehran on Friday.

The commander stressed that Iranian nation will not establish relations with those who have insulted Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

“If we take part in talks with the US, others will ridicule us and would say how come you took part in talks with the US, while the US government has insulted your holy Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).”

Iran categorically denied media reports about Iranian and US officials’ direct talks, and stressed that such claims are aimed at influencing the results of the upcoming US presidential elections.

In one of the strangest articles on the relations between the US and Iran, the New York Times reported on October 20 that Washington and Tehran had reached an agreement to hold one-on-one negotiations.

The sources that provided the story, according to the newspaper, were “Obama administration officials.” They added that Iran only insisted that the proposed negotiations be held after the US elections.

Later Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi dismissed the report stressing that there would be no talks between the two countries.

“We do not have anything called negotiations with the US,” Salehi said.

Also, the French daily Le Monde had reported earlier that Iranian and American diplomats have been meeting for talks in recent years, predominantly in Switzerland. The report added that Robert Enron, a US official who had offered an exchange of enriched uranium with Iran, has had several meetings with Supreme Leader’s Top Advisor for International Affairs Ali Akbar Velayati.

In an interview with the Mashregh website, Velayati strongly rejected the claim, saying, “As far as I am aware of the government’s decisions, there are no direct talks with America.”

Velayati told Mashregh, “Our logic vis-à-vis the United States is clear: They say our nuclear activities are not peaceful but we will not cave in to their demands because even if we temporarily forgo our right (to uranium enrichment), they will find another excuse.”