Tehran, May 23, IRNA � Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif said in Tehran on Saturday that had it not been for people's resistance against pressures, the Iranian nuclear negotiating team would not have been able to resist and reflect views of the nation in talks with the G5+1.

Speaking in a ceremony to commemorate the National War Veterans Day at Foreign Ministry, Zarif said, 'At the negotiation table I always feel that had it not been for public resistance against pressure, we would not have been able to resist and raise the nation's views.'

He said the Islamic Republic of Iran is now recognized as an influential power, worthy of attention and reliance as well as a country seeking peace, stability and authority in the region thanks to its culture of bravery and courage.

He said, 'The Iranian people's refusal to submit to the big powers stems from the culture and ideology of devotion. Fortunately the culture of devotion has not been stopped after the imposed war and the Sacred Defense; rather, it is still considered as a sacred culture in Islamic Iran's dynamic society for whose protection one should spare no efforts.'

By IRNA