politicians-from-iran

"In all fairness the Qur'an is a wonder. Its short suras of the Meccan period are charged with expressive force and persuasive power. Its style has no precedent in the Arabic language. Its effusion from the tongue of an illiterate man with no education, let alone literary training, is a phenomenon which, in this respect, can justifiably be described as a miracle."

"Mohammad believed in what he said; he believed that he was inspired by God."

"Although [Twenty Three Years] was written in 1937, it was only published in 1974, and probably in Beirut, since between 1971 and 1977 the regime of the Shah of Iran forbade publication of any criticism of religion. After the Iranian Revolution of 1979 Dashti authorized its publication by underground opposition groups. His book, whose title refers to the prophetic career of Muhammad, may well have sold over half a million copies in pirated editions between 1980 and 1986."

"Mohammad's greatness is unquestionable. He was one of the most outstanding men of genius who have appeared in human history. If the social and political circumstances of his time are taken into account, he has no equal among the initiators of major historical change. Men such as Alexander, Caesar, Napoleon, Hitler, Cyrus the Great, Chengiz Khan, or Timur do not bear comparison with him. They all had the support of the armed forces and public opinion of their peoples, whereas Mohammad made his way into history with empty hands and in a hostile society."

"If the crimes of the Zionist regime against the people and citizens of Palestine continue, no one can guarantee that the situation in the region will remain the same."

"Iran is seeking to consolidate its relations with its neighbor. There are no restrictions or exceptions in establishing good relations between Iran and the countries of the region."

"A video published by Iranian media showed Amirabdollahian and Haniyeh hugging, kissing, smiling, and laughing while greeting each other. During the meeting, the two agreed to "continue cooperation to fully achieve the goals of Hamas and the Palestinian people," according to a press release by Hamas. Amirabdollahian also met with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, telling him that "if the crimes of the Zionist regime against the people and citizens of Palestine continue, no one can guarantee that the situation in the region will remain the same," according to Iranian media. The Iranian foreign minister's visit to Qatar came as part of a round of visits to Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon by Amirabdollahian in recent days."

"In case of procrastination by the international community and the United Nations and the activists who support the warmongering of the Israeli regime, the response will be done at the right time and the desired resistance... I found out in the conversation with the leaders that the response that will be given is regrettable and will change the current map of the occupied territories. Based on my understanding of the situation, I warn the war criminals and their supporters in the region to stop Israel's crimes against civilians before it is too late, maybe it will be too late in a few hours. There is still a political opportunity to avoid a widespread crisis in the region. Today, I will meet with the representative of the UN secretary-general in the region and I will say that there is still a political opportunity, but tomorrow is too late."

"Countries like the United States prefer to sell to these oil-rich countries hundreds of billions of dollars of arms, so they want to maintain the status quo. President Trump, you remember, signed $300-400 billion in arms to the Saudis. Trump and his officials don’t care whether these weapons are used against Yemenis. They have a short-sighted vision. If the United States would have invested in a regional cooperation system to bring peace and stability, then all Middle Eastern countries would have good relations with Europe and the United States...We should work for and be convinced of security for everyone. This is the principle we should invest in... The United States has lost every war it has fought since the Second World War."

"The Iran nuclear deal is the most comprehensive agreement in the history of non-proliferation. As part of it, Iran accepted the most intrusive transparency measures and stringent limits on a nuclear programme ever demanded of a non-proliferation treaty member... where Iran has kept its end of the bargain, it has been rewarded with sanctions and additional pressure, and the benefits Iran was supposed to receive have been suddenly snatched away."

"He supports the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as well as an Islamic fatwa against nuclear weapons. Yet, given zero achievement of adherence to NPT over the past fifty years, Mousavian believes that only when Muslim-majority powers’ (such as Egypt, Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia) pursue weaponization and the nuclear bomb will Israel and the United States come to the table and negotiate in good faith an end to all WMDs in the Middle East."

"From the Iranian point of view, the deal now is a lose-lose because the Americans are rewarding Iran with more sanctions as Iran is cooperating or has cooperated for two years with the IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency - to fully comply with every commitment that's in the deal... Europeans failed. Americans violated. Even Chinese and Russians - they did not fully comply with their commitments... John Bolton, Secretary Pompeo, Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Bibi Netanyahu - they are fully allied to fight with Iran regardless of Iranian goodwill to implement the maximum level of transparency to the nuclear deal."

"For the past six decades, the United States has been the region’s hegemonic power. However, Trump’s unilateralist approach and the future of JCPOA may change the calculation by creating a rift among the transatlantic allies, and bringing the eastern bloc powers, Europe and regional powers such as Iran, Turkey and Iraq, closer together [and along with other factors] has the potential to transform international power politics, shifting from an American-led system to a multi-polar world"

"In this manner, the United States responded to Iran’s flexibility and cooperation with a “maximum pressure” campaign: U.S. sanctions on Iran are more comprehensive even than those on North Korea, which withdrew from theNuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) in 2003. To the grave disappointment of the Iranian people and government, Europe has proved too inept and spineless to mitigate the effect of U.S. withdrawal by honoring its commitments under the JCPOA."

"If the United States is serious about its war on terrorism, it needs to stop politicizing security and draw on past experiences. If it does so, it’ll realize that Iran is the indispensable partner in the fight against terrorism—if the eradication of terrorism is, indeed, what the United States wants."

"Given the impasse between Iran and the United States, the most immediate and realistic step toward reducing tensions in the Middle East would be to set aside the idea of negotiations between the two countries for now and instead focus on facilitating direct negotiations between Iran and Saudi Arabia to discuss, among other things, putting an end to the devastating war in Yemen."

"Over the past two years,the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), issued 15 reports confirming Iran’s full compliance with the terms and conditions of the JCPOA. What did the United States do in return? Not only it did not fulfill its commitments tolift nuclear related sanctions and facilitate normal business with Iran but it withdrew fromthe deal and rewarded Iran’s goodwill by imposing stringent new economic sanctions and unleashing a torrent of hostile rhetoric."

"In Iran, there is a pervasive belief that the West is in decline and that U.S. hegemony in the Middle East is over. This belief has gained credence as an array of Western intellectuals and leaders have acknowledged such a decline. Iranians note that the United States has failed in almost every conflict it initiated since the Second World War."

"Trump’s decision undoes the signature foreign policy achievement of his predecessor, Barack Obama, and represents an affront to the United States’ European allies, which had strongly lobbied the Trump administration to remain in the deal. But the more enduring impact will be in Tehran, where Trump’s nixing of the JCPOA—and Europe’s response—will push Iran’s leaders to... seek to strengthen its ties with non-Western powers, including China and Russia."

"Sustainable peace and security require good bilateral relations and regional cooperation between Tehran and Riyadh. Iran and Saudi Arabia have significant differences, but they share common interests in many critical issues, such as energy security, nuclear nonproliferation, and Middle East stability."

"We have a responsibility – as an online community, as Canadians and as leaders – to stamp out cyberviolence. That’s why the Department for Women and Gender Equality is working with partners across the country to prevent and eliminate cyberviolence. So what exactly is cyberviolence? We often see a pushback, a denial of its legitimacy – people see cyber violence as a made-up thing. But research and experience show it’s real – and so are its impacts. Cyberviolence is the use of social media, cell phones and other electronic devices to do harm. It is often repetitive. It is often anonymous. And it has serious and dire consequences. Ready for a few examples? Looking at the Twitter feeds of women in leadership, I came across a trove of online violence and hate."

"Want to know what the Liberals have in mind as they push to restrict free speech on social media? Minister Maryam Monsef offers my tweet about being blocked by Rempel as an example of “online violence and hate” that needs to be “stamped out.”"

"If Iran stands, the world will stand with us and by our side."

"We are not rivals to anyone seeking to assume power. And most certainly, no one can rival the MEK when it comes to honesty, sacrifice and paying the price."

"In committing these crimes, the mullahs are testing Western governments. In such circumstances, a lack of resolve or a passive attitude by Western governments will intensify the regime’s terrorist actions."

"I have come here to reiterate what you seek: The time has come for the regime’s overthrow. Victory is certain, and Iran will be free."

"In short, the regime ruling Iran is the axis of Islamic fundamentalism in terms of ideology, policies, money, weapons, and logistical support."

"To [Zarif] a respected adversary."

"The concept of a velvet revolution in Iran should not be considered as groundless fear."

"He [Zarif] was intelligent, courteous, disciplined, interesting to talk to, I conducted the conversation to educate myself, so I did not try to persuade him [Zarif] of any particular approach, except my basic theme was that, on the basis of national interests, there is no conflict between Iran and the United States. Everything beyond that is ideological."

"We do not jail people for their opinions[.]"

""He doesn’t play games, He doesn’t produce incendiary sentences. He is thoughtful. He is real. He wants to help his people and lead them in a different direction. That’s important to me in my measurement of a person.”"

""He’s a craftsman. The proof is the 123 lives that we brought back to their families and homes"."

""[Zarif is] extremely well-informed [about the US] and deeply knowledgeable [about his own country]. He's admirably suited by temperament, background and education to work on these issues that have divided the US and Iran for 34 years"."

""Zarif had achieved the final breakthrough without which the [[Hamid Karzai|[Hamid] Karzai]] government might never have been formed [in Afghanistan]"."

"Beautiful military equipment don't rule the world, People rule the world. People."

""All ethnicities and groups in Syria should begin the process of reconstruction within a single unit under the Syrian flag."(during his visit to Damascus on September 2018). IFP News (2018-09-03)."

"Zarif is a tough advocate, but he’s also pragmatic, not dogmatic, He can play an important role in helping to resolve our significant differences with Iran peacefully."

"[He was] good in the classroom. At that time ... I thought he'd play an important part in his country's life."

"He was among the very best students that I’ve ever taught, He’s just a very nice person."

"The art of a diplomat is to conceal all turbulence behind his smile."

"He [Zarif] is a very shrewd person and a very charming person and a very shrewd negotiator."

""Currently, Americans have focused on psychological warfare and are doing their best to place psychological pressure on Iranians and our international partners." (during an interview with the state TV). IFP News (2018-08-26)."

""In order to practice dialogue, you need to be able to set aside your assumptions and try to listen more than you want to talk. It’s not always politically correct to be able to do that, but it can give you a better sense of the reality. I have benefited from the knowledge and the information that all these people have been able to provide to me. I have disagreements with some and more agreements with others. But that doesn’t mean I cannot listen to those I disagree with." According to"

"Zarif went. We are rid of him."

"In September 2013, a month after Obama backed down from launching strikes against Assad to punish him for using chemical weapons, he and President Rouhani spoke on the phone while they were both at the UN General Assembly. The Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif, and the US secretary of state, John Kerry, sat down for a tête-à-tête. It was the highest level of contact between the two countries since 1979. The Saudis were shocked and felt deeply betrayed. They had long since moved on from the era of détente in the 1990s and had a particular aversion to back channels between Iran and the United States. They’d felt betrayed before by such talks, and it made them feel deeply insecure about their place in the Middle East and their role as America’s top ally in the Arab world. The Saudi-US alliance, based on oil for security, had its limitations, and the relationship had been sorely tested by events like the September 11 attacks. Meanwhile, there were policymakers in Washington who felt Iran held more promise of turning into a democracy than a desert kingdom with an absolute monarchy. The Saudis were apoplectic when they heard such musings. The Obama administration also believed that if a deal could be reached while the reformers were in power, an improved economy would further strengthen the reformers and show how much the hardliners had failed the people."

"His (Donald Trump) threats will not frighten us. But what he is showing something- he is showing to the International community that he has no respect for International law, that he is prepared to commit war crimes because attacking cultural sites is a war crime and disproportionate response is a war crime. But he doesn't care, it seems, about International law. But he has made U.S. more secure? Do Americans feel more secure? Are Americans welcome today in this region? Do they feel welcome?"

"Iran never denied it [The Holocaust]. The man who was perceived to be denying it (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) is now gone."

"The moral aspect of oil nationalization is more important than its economic aspect."

"There is no political or moral yardstick by which the court can measure its judgment in the case of nationalization of the oil industry in Iran [...] under no condition we will accept the jurisdiction of the court on the subject. We cannot put ourselves in the dangerous situation which might arise out of the court's decision."