TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran's former chief nuclear negotiator Hassan Rohani blasted the justifications used by the western powers for approving resolutions and sanctions against Iran, and said the religious fiat issued by the Supreme Leader against the production and use of nuclear weapons has taken away all excuses used by the West in this regard.
Former Top Negotiator Raps West for Imposing Unjustified Sanctions on Iran
"The explicit Fatwa (religious fiat) issued by the Supreme Leader of the
Islamic Revolution (Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei) about the religious
ban on the production of nuclear weapons and also Iran's record in
complying with its undertakings with regard to the IAEA's uncalled
inspections and its close cooperation with the Agency in the past 10
years have left no justification for resolutions and sanctions against
Iran," Rohani said in a meeting with Norway's envoy to Tehran on Sunday.
Rohani, who currently heads the Iranian Expediency Council's
Strategic Research Center, stressed that sanctions are "wrong and
tyrannical" and leave negative and unjustifiable impacts on the life of
the Iranian people.
Rohani further said Europeans' false understanding of Islam, Islamic
Revolution and Iran's independence has resulted in their wrong stance
on Iran and led them to decisions that have been harmful both to Tehran
and the Europeans as well.
Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop
nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, while
they have never presented any corroborative evidence to substantiate
their allegations. Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear
program is for peaceful purposes only.
Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path
to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose
fossil fuel would eventually run dry.
Despite the rules enshrined in the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
entitling every member state, including Iran, to the right of uranium
enrichment, Tehran is now under four rounds of UN Security Council
sanctions for turning down West's calls to give up its right of uranium
enrichment.
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali
Khamenei issued a fatwa on April 17, 2010 declaring that the production,
stockpiling, and use of nuclear weapons are all haram (religiously
prohibited).
"Iran is not after a nuclear bomb. Why would Iran want a nuclear
bomb? Moreover, when an atomic bomb is detonated, it does not just kill
enemies. Rather, it kills innocent people as well, and this goes against
Islamic beliefs and the principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
An atomic bomb does not discriminate between good and bad people,
and it is not something that the Islamic Republic would use. The Islamic
Republic is relying on something that is not affected by bombs, foreign
invasions and other such things. Such things only strengthen what the
Islamic republic is relying on. The Islamic republic is relying on the
people," a part of the fatwa said.
Analysts believe that the fatwa of the Leader of the Islamic
Revolution can well serve as a beacon of light for Washington in order
to find its way out of darkness and ignorance.
The fatwa issued by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution,
Grand Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei forbidding the production,
proliferation and use of nuclear bombs is to be considered a political
milestone in Iranian history and one which can salvage the Islamic
nation from the spate of external threats and plots.
Fatwa is a religious decree issued by a Muslim leader against a
specific issue and it is incumbent upon all Muslims to abide by it.
However, in this particular case, the issuance of the fatwa has not only
religious but political force as well as the leader in the Islamic
Republic is the prime decision-maker.
Meantime, the UN nuclear watchdog has also carried out frequent
surprise inspections of Iran's nuclear sites so far, but found nothing
to support West's allegations that Tehran pursues military purposes.
The Vienna-based UN nuclear watchdog continues snap inspections of
Iranian nuclear sites and has reported that all declared nuclear
material in Iran has been accounted for, and therefore such material is
not diverted to prohibited activities.
Iran, an NPT-signatory, has also repeatedly called for the removal
of all weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, from
across the globe.