TEHRAN — Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the newly-elected parliament speaker says talks and compromise with the United States are harmful to the country.

“The 11th Parliament considers anti-arrogance as both an ideological doctrine and as a strategic interest. Negotiations and compromise with the United States, as the axis of global arrogance, are considered fruitless and harmful,” he said while addressing an open session of the parliament on Sunday. 

This was his first address to the parliament after he was elected as a speaker on Thursday.

“The 11th parliament supports the expansion of ties with the international community but considers trusting governments that have a dark history as a strategic mistake.” “Our strategy in dealing with terrorist America is to complete the chain of revenge for the blood of martyr Soleimani,” he said, adding, “The work, which began with the unprecedented attack on Ain al-Asad base and continued with the defeat of the U.S.’s empty grandeur in its inability to respond to the Islamic Republic’s measure, will be completed with the expulsion of the U.S. terrorist forces from the region.”

He stressed that this parliament believes ties with foreign countries should be focused on neighbors and major powers that have remained alongside Iran during hard days. 

“The 11th parliament supports the expansion of ties with the international community but considers trusting governments that have a dark history as a strategic mistake.”

Ghalibaf also reaffirmed the parliament’s commitment to supporting the Palestinian nation, the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, the oppressed people of Yemen, as well as the Iraqi government, nation and religious authorities.

Tensions started to build up between the U.S. and Iran after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the 2015 deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in May 2018, and imposed sanctions against Tehran in a bid to put maximum pressure on the Islamic Republic. 

The Trump administration has also made empty calls for talks, but the Islamic Republic maintains that as long as the sanctions are in place and the U.S. refuses to return to the JCPOA, negotiations will be meaningless.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ruled out the notion that “settlement of Iran’s problems hinges on rapprochement with the United States.”

MH/PA