Pressure on Iran over Palestinian issue

Iran’s Parliament speaker says the existing Western pressure on the country has its roots in the stance adopted by the Tehran government on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

Speaking in a meeting with Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal late Tuesday, Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani dismissed the ongoing pressure on the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program as politically motivated.

He went on to explain that based on information disclosed by a foreign minister from a country which is a permanent UN Security Council member, if Iran makes a compromise with the West over the Palestinian issue, all pressure will be eliminated.

“Our main problem with you is not over your nuclear dossier. Even if Iran builds a nuclear bomb, we won’t have any problem with it,” Larijani quoted the unnamed foreign minister as saying.

“Our problem with Iran is over the Palestinian-Israeli issue and should we reach an agreement on that we will have no problem with Tehran,” he added.

The Iranian Majlis speaker went on to say that the US has always been exerting pressure on Iran, explaining further that such measures will be to no avail as the Islamic Republic would continue with its nuclear activities.

Larijani made the remarks in reaction to recent US unilateral sanctions on Iran’s energy and banking sectors which came in the wake of the fourth round of Security Council sanctions against Iran’s nuclear activities.

The United States along with its Western allies have been accusing Iran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program. Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, rejects the allegation, arguing that its nuclear activities are under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Speaking in another meeting with Secretary General of the Islamic Jihad Movement Ramadan Abdullah Shalah on Tuesday, Larijani said efforts to break the three-year siege of Gaza are the most essential matter in the campaign for supporting the impoverished people of the Palestinian territory.

“Today, the human rights advocates are facing a major test and that is to show how genuine their support for the Palestinian people is,” Larijani said.