Sunday, April 25, 2010
Parliament speaker Larijani says US cannot bully Iran
4:51 AM | 
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Updated at: 1501 PST, Sunday, April 25, 2010 TEHRAN: The United States must understand that it cannot bully Iran and should respect the rights of the Islamic republic, parliament speaker Ali Larijani said in the eastern city of Tabas on Sunday. "They (US administration) should respect Iran's rights and understand that you cannot bully Iran," Larijani said in a speech marking the 30th anniversary of the failed US mission to release American embassy staff taken hostage in the wake of the Islamic revolution of 1979. Fifty-three employees of the then US embassy in Tehran were held hostage for 444 days by Islamist Iranian students soon after the Islamic revolution that toppled the US-backed shah. In April 1980, then US President Jimmy Carter sent a rescue mission to free the hostages but the military effort ended in failure, with eight American servicemen killed. Diplomatic ties between the US and Iran have been suspended ever since. Larijani, whose speech was broadcast live on state television, also criticised diplomatic overtures by US President Barack Obama, saying they were followed by "harsh and sometimes threatening behaviour." The senior lawmaker boasted that Western countries were now "humbled in front of Iran's military might" and did not dare to "attack" the Islamic republic. "Instead of understanding the region, they want to deceive. You must understand that we are now living in a post-US era," Larijani said, as the crowd shouted "Death to America!" In recent months, Washington has stepped up global efforts to impose a fourth round of UN sanctions on Iran for pursuing its nuclear programme, which Tehran insists is peaceful but which Western powers believe masks a drive to manufacture an atomic weapon. The United States has not ruled out military action to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions. |
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