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Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that Iran will not retreat "an iota" from its nuclear rights, stressing that the West's pressures will not affect its stance.
Addressing a large crowd of commanders within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp's Basij force, also known as volunteer militias, in Tehran, Khamenei said that he supports Iran's nuclear negotiating team, while emphasizing to the team that the Iranian leaders "insist on preserving the rights of the nation, including its nuclear rights."
"We insist that no retreat should be made, even an iota, from the (nuclear) rights of the Iranian nation," said Khamenei.
"The red lines (in the nuclear negotiations) should be observed, and we have told this to the (negotiating) officials and have told them that they should not be intimidated by the enemy's gestures," the Iranian leader said, referring to warnings by the West of more sanctions on the country that is already burdened by international embargos.
Khamenei said the sanctions by the United States are "spiteful" and "intend to make us surrender."
He refused the idea of submitting to any external pressures, adding that the sanctions have not served the West's interests.
Khamenei predicted that attempts to squeeze compliance out of Iran would "backfire" ahead of the upcoming resumption of the nuclear talks between Iran and the world powers in Geneva on Wednesday.
Referring to the beginning of fresh round of nuclear talks, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani also said Wednesday that "Options like threats and gunpowder (against Iran) will not affect the negotiating table," according to the state-owned IRNA news agency.
"The Islamic republic is after stability and tranquility in the region and the success of (nuclear) negotiations could benefit all the regional countries and the world," he was quoted as saying.
