“They want to bring Iran to the negotiating table and the result of these negotiations has already been determined as Iran’s surrender to the US, which is never in accordance with our country’s morals,” Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Mohammad Baqeri said in a videoconference in Tehran on Monday, IRNA reported.
Washington imposed tough sanctions on Tehran after its unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, two years ago.
It has been intensifying its “maximum pressure” through different means since then, in order to force Iranian leaders to renegotiate a more comprehensive deal.
The US administration has refused to ease its sanctions even during the coronavirus pandemic. The restrictions have hurt Iran’s health sector despite the claim that humanitarian goods are exempt from sanctions.
According to Baqeri, what the US wants is that Iran finally consent to their policies.
“They seek our surrender to demands that have always contradicted our revolutionary principles,” he said.
Iran has refused to enter talks with the US unless it removes all sanctions, returns to the nuclear agreement and makes up for the economic damage it caused to the Iranian nation.
“By accepting JCPOA, Iran compromised with the world and agreed to reduce part of its tasks to enjoy a reduction of sanctions. The whole world admits that Iran adhered to its commitments, but the US non-abidance complicated the affairs,” Baqeri said.
Iran waited for a year, but then adopted a policy of “active resistance”, according to the general, by focusing on self-sufficiency.
“Although pressure is hard on our country, we have had great achievements that have disappointed the enemies,” he said, adding that Iran’s strength has increased during this period.
Baqeri also stressed that Iran is located in a region where strength is necessary for protecting national interests.
To increase the country’s power, Iran needs to focus on domestic capabilities and improve its national tolerance of enemies’ pressure, he added.
“Experience has shown that when enemies feel weak, they definitely retreat,” he said, citing Iran’s downing of a US drone last year, which made Washington hesitant about launching a military response.
The US administration refrained from a military attack at the last minute for “no other reason than fear”, Baqeri concluded.