This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/26/world/middleeast/iran-nuclear-talks-extension.html

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Iran’s Supreme Leader Denounces West Over Extension of Nuclear Talks Iran’s Supreme Leader Dismisses Western Pressure on Nuclear Issue
(about 3 hours later)
TEHRAN — A day after a deadline for nuclear talks was extended by seven months, Iran’s supreme leader said on Tuesday that the West “had failed to bring Iran to its knees.” TEHRAN — Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Tuesday that the West had failed to bring Iran “to its knees” over its nuclear program.
In a meeting with Muslim clerics on Tuesday in Tehran, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, lashed out against the world powers that his country has been negotiating with over the past year in search of an agreement to end a diplomatic standoff over its nuclear program. Meeting with Muslim clerics in Tehran, the Iranian capital, Mr. Khamenei dismissed the diplomatic and economic pressure that world powers have brought to bear on his country over its nuclear ambitions. He spoke the day after a deadline for concluding an agreement was extended for seven months.
“In the nuclear issue, America and colonial European countries got together and did their best to bring the Islamic Republic to its knees, but they could not do so — and they will not be able to do so,” Mr. Khamenei’s personal website quoted him as saying.“In the nuclear issue, America and colonial European countries got together and did their best to bring the Islamic Republic to its knees, but they could not do so — and they will not be able to do so,” Mr. Khamenei’s personal website quoted him as saying.
Mr. Khamenei’s opinion matters as he has the final say in Iran on a possible deal. His remarks suggested that he would continue to support the negotiations, but that he was still pessimistic over the ultimate outcome of the talks. Mr. Khamenei has the final say on all important policy matters in Iran, including its nuclear program. His remarks suggested that he would continue to support negotiations, but remained skeptical that they would yield a satisfactory agreement.
The negotiations between Iran and six major powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — were extended on Monday by seven months, until June 30. This was despite the fact that diplomats from all parties involved had insisted there would be no extension of the Nov. 24 deadline set a year ago. Six major powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — have been negotiating with Iran over the nuclear issue for a year. Iran is widely believed to be actively developing the materials and means to build nuclear weapons, though Tehran maintains that its program is strictly civilian and peaceful.
In the Iranian Parliament, lawmakers erupted in their usual cheers of “Death to America,” after one of the speakers, reacting to the extension, spoke of “the U.S.'s sabotaging efforts and its unreliability.” Diplomats from all sides insisted until very recently that the original Nov. 24 deadline for a deal was hard and fast. But on Monday, with no final agreement within reach, they extended the deadline until June 30, 2015.
The deputy speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Hassan Abutorabi-Fard, said the negotiations were a lesson for Iran. “Today, we can speak to the U.S. and its allies with the tone of power,” he said. In the Iranian Parliament, lawmakers erupted in their usual chants of “Death to America” after a lawmaker commenting on the deadline extension spoke of “the U.S.'s sabotaging efforts and its unreliability.”
“A lesson can be taken from the recent nuclear talks that, for various reasons, the U.S. is not reliable,” the Fars news agency quoted him as saying. The deputy speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Hassan Abutorabi-Fard, said that Iran had learned from the nuclear negotiations that it had a strong hand to play. “Today, we can speak to the U.S. and its allies with the tone of power,” he said in remarks quoted by the Fars news agency. “A lesson can be taken from the recent nuclear talks that, for various reasons, the U.S. is not reliable.”
In a series of posts from a Twitter account used by his office, Mr. Khamenei accused the West of meddling in Middle Eastern turmoil, saying Islamic militants had turned Arab Spring uprisings into Muslim infighting “in line with arrogant’ goals.” The term “arrogant powers” is often used in Iran’s revolutionary vernacular to describe the United States and its allies. In a series of posts on a Twitter account used by his office, Mr. Khamenei accused the West of meddling in the Middle East and using Sunni militant groups to thwart the Arab Spring uprisings with intra-Muslim infighting “in line with arrogant goals.” The Iranian authorities often use the term “arrogant powers” as shorthand for the United States and its allies.
The message referred to takfiri militants, who Iran says are Sunnis who believe that followers of other sects of Islam are infidels and legitimate targets of holy war. A third post from the same account said, “We were informed that U.S. planes dropped munitions on ISIS headquarters in Iraq; this cannot be an accident since it happened five times,” using an acronym for the Islamic State militant group.