Tehran, November 25: Iranian parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani said Wednesday that Washington was trying to “trick” Tehran through a high-profile nuclear fuel deal brokered by the UN atomic watchdog.
The conservative who was Tehran’s former chief nuclear negotiator also said Iranians must avoid falling prey to US “smiles” as the Americans carry “hidden daggers.”
“If we analyse the role of the United States in the Iranian nuclear issue, it turns out that there was a trick in this proposal. They felt that they can politically cheat” Iran, Larijani told the official IRNA news agency.
The UN-brokered deal envisages Iran sending most of its stock of low-enriched uranium (LEU) abroad for converting into fuel for a research reactor in Tehran.
Larijani warned Tehran must remain alert when negotiating with Washington.
“One should not fall for US smiles and tactics. Americans sometimes talk about peace and sometimes they smile at the Islamic republic’s officials… but they have hidden daggers behind themselves.
“If the country’s officials are smart, mature, and love the nation’s interests, they will not fall for US smiles. It is a big mistake if we think they will change their behaviour just because there is a change in administration,” the Iranian politician said.
Iranian officials insist the only way the LEU would leave Iran was through a simultaneous exchange of 20 percent enriched uranium required as fuel for the Tehran reactor.
Iran insists it has the right to develop nuclear technology, which it says is aimed at generating energy for its growing population.
Although Iran has oil, it is still dependent on petrol imports to meet about 40 percent of domestic consumption.
Israel is the only country in the Middle Ease that actually has nuclear weapons.
Observers say due the strong Jewish and pro-Israel lobbies in the US and some European countries, these countries have taken a hypocritical stance in relation to nuclear issues in the region.
Tehran had repeatedly protested against Israeli and US war threats, warning them that it would retaliate in the event of any strike against Iran.
Iran and the United States have not had diplomatic relations since 1979 Iranian revolution, which toppled the ruthless US-backed dictator, the shah.
Tehran never forgave Washington for supporting the shah, and angry Iranian students took American diplomats hostage for 444 days following the revolution.
US President Barack Obama had admitted US involvement in the 1953 coup which overthrew the democratically elected Iranian government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh.
It was the first time a serving US president had publicly admitted American involvement in the coup.
The US Central Intelligence Agency, with British backing, masterminded the coup after Mossadegh nationalised the oil industry.
For many Iranians, the coup demonstrated duplicity by the United States, which presented itself as a defender of freedom but did not hesitate to use underhand methods to get rid of a democratically elected government to suit its own economic and strategic interests.
Washington went on to become the major backer of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, a brutal and ruthless dictator who was overthrown by the Islamic revolution of 1979.
—Agencies