Khamenei: Negotiating Does Not Mean Giving in to The Enemy

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei addresses a crowd via a video conference in Tehran, Iran (AFP)
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei addresses a crowd via a video conference in Tehran, Iran (AFP)
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Khamenei: Negotiating Does Not Mean Giving in to The Enemy

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei addresses a crowd via a video conference in Tehran, Iran (AFP)
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei addresses a crowd via a video conference in Tehran, Iran (AFP)

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has asserted that negotiating does not mean giving in to the enemy.

"Not surrendering to the enemies is one of the principles of the Islamic revolution. However, holding talks and negotiating with the enemy at a certain juncture does not mean surrendering. We have never surrendered so far, and we never will," Khamenei said.

In his speech, Khamenei did not directly address the Vienna talks, but it is the first time he has approached the negotiations in general since their resumption in late November, according to Agence France Presse.

The Supreme Leader delivered a speech on the anniversary of the people of Qom's uprising against the Pahlavi regime in 1977.

State agencies reported that Khamenei refused to give up the slogan "Death to America," implicitly criticizing those who say that this slogan created hostility between the US regime and Iran.

Khamenei said: "America's deep hostility and spite toward Iran stems from the Iranian people's revolutionary, religious viewpoint on the current issues of the world. That is why the US, the leading "arrogant power," opposes the Islamic Republic of Iran."

"It is another thing to negotiate, talk and interact with the enemy, but we have not and will not give in to the enemy's coercion and words. They want to undermine this, and they want to downplay these salient principles. This is part of the extensive, diverse soft war of the enemy they are pursuing."

He warned that the enemies are trying to erode Iranians' responsiveness to the principles of the Islamic revolution through a massive propaganda campaign on cyberspace and foreign-based media.

The Supreme Leader called on intellectuals, academics, and social media activists to "confront the plan."

Khamenei also commented on the assassination of Qassem Soleimani on its second anniversary, saying it was a miscalculation by the United States.

Iran returned to the Vienna talks to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on its nuclear program.

The negotiations include France, Britain, Russia, China, and Germany, while the United States participates indirectly in these talks.



Tehran Hints 360 Soldiers Killed in 12-Day War with Israel

People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran (Reuters) 
People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran (Reuters) 
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Tehran Hints 360 Soldiers Killed in 12-Day War with Israel

People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran (Reuters) 
People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran (Reuters) 

Iranian Health Minister Mohammad-Reza Zafarghandi on Wednesday said close to 700 civilians were killed in Israeli attacks on Iran during the 12-day war that started on June 13.

His statements came two days after Saeed Ohadi, head of Iran’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs said the attacks killed over 1060 Iranians, indirectly hinting that at least 360 soldiers have been confirmed dead.

During a visit to a Tehran medical center, Zafarghandi said nearly 5,000 civilians were wounded in the Israeli attacks.

Checking on a 5-year-old Kian Ghasemian - a burn victim whose family was killed in the attacks - Zafarghandi described the Israeli strikes as “a savage and unjustifiable assault on defenseless people.”

The Minister said 18 members of medical staff, including six physicians, were among those killed in the airstrikes.

Zafarghandi noted that seven hospitals were directly targeted by Israel, and a number of medical centers were evacuated due to emergency circumstances.

Also, “Israel also hit 11 ambulances,” he said, adding all those Israeli actions were in violation of international principles, laws and human rights.

The minister’s new figures came shortly after Iran’s government has issued a death toll for its war with Israel, saying at least 1,060 people were killed and warning that the figure could rise.

Ohadi gave the figure in an interview aired by Iranian state television late Monday.

Figures show that around 360 soldiers were killed in the attacks, including 40 high-ranking leaders from the Revolutionary Guard.

During the war, Iran downplayed the effects of Israel’s 12-day bombardment of the country, which decimated its air defenses, destroyed military sites and damaged its nuclear facilities. Since a ceasefire took hold, Iran slowly has been acknowledging the breadth of the destruction, though it still has not said how much military materiel it lost.

The Washington-based Human Rights Activists group, which has provided detailed casualty figures from multiple rounds of unrest in Iran, has said 1,190 people were killed, including 436 civilians and 435 security force members. The attacks wounded another 4,475 people, the group said.