Khamenei: Iran though unoptimistic to proceed with nuclear talks

The Supreme Leader of the Iranian Islamic Revolution Ali Khamenei said Monday his country is seriously engaged in nuclear talks with the P5+1 group although it was not optimistic about the negotiations. Some members of the former and incumbent governments think that negotiations with the US and other major powers could solve the nuclear issue of Iran but "I am neither optimistic about, nor opposed to, the nuclear talks, " he said. The Supreme Leader made the comments in a meeting with a group of residents of East Azerbaijan Province, north Iran, on the occasion of the anniversary of the uprising of Tabriz, the capital of the province, against the Pahlavi dynasty's rule in 1978. His comments came on the eve of the new round of talks between Iran and the P5+1 group in Geneva on the implementation of the deal struck late last November. He said his pessimism stems from the "hostile ridiculous" statements being made by US officials and senators against the Iranian people. He affirmed that Iran would never yield to the international hegemony and blackmailing materialized in the US policy. The approach of the Iranian Foreign Ministry to the nuclear negotiations will continue and the Iran government will not back away from this tendency but everybody have to know that the US feud is, in the first place, over the Islamic revolution; this feud is unlikely to be settled through the nuclear negotiations, Khamenei argued. If the nuclear dispute is settled, the Americans will raise, as everybody see now, other issues such as the human rights, and the missile and defense capabilities of Iran, he went on. The Americans should feel ashamed of speaking about human rights violations; they are the last ones who could do so, he stressed. The Supreme leader also criticized the US for wooing and courting some Iranians, saying that such attempts will go to no avail.