TEHRAN (Tasnim) � Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari praised the country's negotiators for their efforts in nuclear talks with world powers and said Iran's resistance forced the US to choose diplomacy and abandon war rhetoric against Tehran.

"The Iranian nation's resistance to the US thwarted Washington's robust options for imposing its political will on the Islamic Republic of Iran," Major General Jafari said on the sidelines of a meeting of IRGC commanders on Tuesday.

He said the US that had sought a change in Iran's political behavior acceded to a shift in its political behavior and was forced to abandon �all the options on the table" and opt for the path of diplomacy to settle the nuclear issue.

The senior commander, however, referred to Washington�s insincerity and its refusal to honor its commitments, and warned of a �difficult path� in the future diplomatic negotiations over the nuclear issue.

He further praised the Iranian negotiators' "sincere efforts and political endeavors" and their insistence on observing the country's red lines in the course of nuclear talks with world powers, saying that the Iranian diplomats have successfully defended the nation's rights in the talks.

Major General Jafari also reiterated that in addition to keeping the uranium enrichment cycle on the country�s soil and the continuation of nuclear research and development, Iran�s red lines include the termination of all the related sanctions under a final nuclear deal.

On April 2, Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) reached a framework nuclear agreement after more than a week of intensive negotiations in Lausanne, Switzerland, with both sides committed to push for a final, comprehensive accord until the end of June.

The framework provides a series of solutions that will be the basis of a comprehensive joint plan of action.

According to the Lausanne statement, "the EU will terminate the implementation of all nuclear-related economic and financial sanctions and the US will cease the application of all nuclear-related secondary economic and financial sanctions, simultaneously with the IAEA-verified implementation by Iran of its key nuclear commitments."

By Tasnim News Agency