Senior Iranian Sunni cleric:

One step back equivalent to ten steps ahead for P5+1

Rasa – One of the prominent Sunni clerics of Sistan and Balouchistan province, Molavi Nazir Ahmad Salami said: "In nuclear talks, one step back is equivalent to ten steps ahead for the enemy. While Iran uses logic and negotiation, it should not appease the enemy by giving into concessions from its legal and institutional positions."

News ID: 2268

Date: 28 March 2015 - 21:44

RNA – In an exclusive interview with Rasa News Agency, Molavi Nazir Ahmad Salami, the representative of Sistan and Baluchestan province in the Assembly of Experts referred to the speech of Ayatollah Khamenei in a meeting with the Assembly of Experts saying Ayatollah Khamenei warned that the Iranian nuclear negotiating team must not retreat from their positions because if Iran retreats even a little bit, the US will make further demands. Iran must show that they are firm in their position and maintain the dignity of the Iranian people and society.

Molavi Salami said that one step back is equivalent to ten steps ahead for the enemy. While Iran uses logic and negotiation, it should not appease the enemy by giving into concessions from its legal and institutional positions so the world can come to realize that Iran is not belligerent nor is it seeking dominance and that Iran comes to the table speaking the language of peace and reconciliation.

He continued, saying: “If someone violates Iran’s rights, we know that it is our duty to defend these rights. The Supreme Leader has stated that he is worried for the negotiating team because, on one hand, the opposite party practices deception and an the other hand, some accuse Iran’s negotiating team of showing weakness in relation to the US and Western position. For this reason, Ayatollah Khamenei explained that we know our negotiators, but the other side always seeks to take the negotiations from a win-win situation and into a win-lose situation.”

The representative of the mainly Sunni province of Sistan and Baluchestan stated that we need to turn the threats of Islamophobia into opportunities for the ideology of the Islamic Revolution. Islamophobia is a weapon used by Takfiri groups to introduce Islam as a war-like and aggressive religion. Ayatollah Khamenei stated that we should not be passive in relation to the Islamophobia and other forms of negative propaganda broadcasted by the enemies. We must not allow Islam to be presented in the way that the West wants its to be presented.

Molavi Salami referred to the Supreme Leaders’ statement that Islam is not a “religion of minimums,” saying that a religion of minimums is that which one only performs some of their Islamic obligations. He stressed that Islam is a complete social system which includes all facets of life. Therefore, Islam cannot be considered a one-dimensional religion.

111/112