A political commentator says the United States is trying to bypass the P5+1 group by the offer of having direct talks with Iran over its nuclear energy program.
The United States, the Israeli regime and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program. Iran argues that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it is entitled to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

Press TV has conducted an interview with Hamid Reza Emadi, a political commentator in Tehran, to further shed light on the issue. The video also offers the opinions of two additional guests: Mark Dankof, a political commentator from San Antonio, and George Lambrakis who is a former US diplomat joining this edition of Press TV’s Debate from London. What follows is an approximate transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Hamid Reza Emadi, let me ask you about what Iran’s Leader has said. He has come out and made a statement saying basically, “American policy in the Middle East has been destroyed and Americans now need to play a new card. That card is dragging Iran into negotiations.” Can you explain that for us?

Emadi: America has pretty much lost in the Middle East. Just look at the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan. Look how America gave Iraq to Iran; how America did not solve any problems in Afghanistan.

The situation in Afghanistan is getting worse day in day out and they have this person in Afghanistan in charge, Mr. Karzai, and very lately he has been speaking against the Americans, their presence in Afghanistan and he says the situation was much better. Afghans were much better off before Americans invaded Afghanistan, the situation in Syria, the situation in other parts of the Middle East.
America did not manage to create any kind of breakthrough in the Israeli-Palestinian issue. So the US has failed in policies that it has been pursuing in the Middle East region. It does need Iran to help and it does need to tell the world that yes, America has failed in other spheres but it has managed somehow to bring Iran to the negotiating table.
But as long as this kind of offering direct talks by the United States is coming with more pressure and sanctions against the Iranian nation, it is not going to work. Iran is not going to talk with the US under pressure. That is something that Iran has said over and over again and Iran has made it very much clear and it is very much clear.

It has been the United States that has been attacking countries in the Middle East. The United States attacked Afghanistan. The United States attacked Iraq. The United States is the one that is creating chaos in the Middle East. The United States is the one that is trying to help Israel in every possible way.
I think that is the core problem. The United States has been held hostage to Israel. Israel has held Americans hostage and that is why the Americans cannot make any decisions independently. Even if the Americans talk about talks with Iran - because they have to do what the Israelis are telling them to do - they cannot succeed.
The talks do not make any sense as long as Americans cannot make a decision independently of Israel. So talks for talk’s sake do not make any sense. Americans cannot go into any direct talks with Iran as long as they want to put pressure; they want to create a situation where there cannot be any talks with good faith.

The United States has failed in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a failed state right now.

Press TV: Hamid Reza Emadi, tell us wasn’t it in Russia that the sincerity was displayed by the US in terms of the so-called P5+1? What was it that they offered in return? I think it was some spare parts for airplanes. Perhaps you can tell us more. Is that a show of sincerity?

Emadi: Well, actually this so-called P5+1, five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, the offer of direct talks by Joseph Biden and the fact that Iran and the P5+1 are going to hold another round of negotiations in Kazakhstan, just when you put these two together, you will see that the US is trying somehow to bypass the P5+1.

So the US has realized that the P5+1 talks with Iran have not achieved anything. So the US wants to do it itself and wants to have some bilateral talks with Iran. So in essence, the US is bypassing P5+1. It is telling Russia, China and those other countries and even its European allies that you have not been able to do anything, so we are going to be there to talk to Iran but as long as these talks are not going to produce anything, these talks are just for talk’s sake, for the US to tell the world that yes, we did manage to take Iran to the negotiating table.

As long as these talks are not going to produce any results, Iran will not participate in such talks and it has been proven. In the past, you have seen there have been a lot of these kinds of talks between Iran and the P5+1 and nothing has been achieved.

One more point that is very important is the fact that America, this latest round of sanctions a couple of days ago, America is shooting itself in the foot. Today, as we speak, crude oil prices have reached their five-month peak. What does that tell you? America imposes oil sanctions on Iran and oil prices keep going up.

So the US policy of trying somehow to create pressure and to exert pressure on Iran and keep the oil prices at a safe range, it has failed. America is also creating problems for the Americans. By imposing sanctions on Iran, the US is creating problems for the Americans, for the Europeans. So this is another point that is very important.

Americans are very good at negotiation. That is why they attack other countries. They kill innocent children. That is the UN report yesterday that Americans have killed a lot of children in Afghanistan. That is why America is very good at negotiating. They negotiate with other countries. They kill people. They are attacking other countries. They negotiate with other countries. I think the history is quite clear.

Press TV: Your last comments, Hamid Reza Emadi.

Emadi: The situation in the Middle East and the talks that the United States is offering and the pressure that the United States is exerting on the Iranian nation, these are the things that are some facts that are very much clear to the audience.

The people can judge for themselves. People can see how the people in Afghanistan and Iraq have been suffering for the past several years and people in Pakistan, the drone attacks by the United States and the US has not shown any kind of good intentions to the people in this part of the world. So there is every reason for Iran and many other people in the world to doubt America’s sincerity.

By Press TV

 

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