Iran’s Parliament Speaker Defends Talks With US, Says Negotiations Are Part of Resistance
TEHRAN:Iranian Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has defended negotiations with the United States, saying talks do not represent retreat but are part of resistance when aimed at protecting Iran’s national interests.
According to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, Ghalibaf expressed the position in an open letter responding to criticism of the negotiations published by Iranian newspaper *Kayhan*.
Ghalibaf wrote that any prudent action, empowered negotiation, or effort to secure the nation’s rights from an adversary should not be mistakenly portrayed as compromise or inaction.
He stressed the need to protect the country’s sources of strength in order to consolidate the gains of the war and safely steer Iran through serious destruction that he said had been planned by its enemies.
The Iranian parliamentary speaker further said it was wrong to avoid the responsibility of negotiating with the United States or to label every success achieved by the negotiating team as treason.
