Tehran, July 12, IRNA – A group of MPs thanked the country's negotiating team in the nuclear talks with the world powers for standing firm on the redlines specified by the Islamic Republic.

“During the Sunday meeting of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, the lawmakers thanked the country’s negotiating team for insisting on the Islamic system’s redlines,” Rapporteur of the commission Nozar Shafiee said.

Earlier on Sunday in a similar move, another group of Iranian lawmakers in a statement thanked the country’s negotiating team for their relentless efforts in the nuclear field.

'The resistance of the Islamic Iran's negotiating representatives against the excessive demands of the arrogant powers, headed by the US, is a source of honor and appreciable,' the statement said.

'The representatives of the great Iranian nation ask the dear negotiators to continue observing the redlines specified by the Islamic Republic and the law approved by the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament) as their criteria and voice opposition to any result that violates these principles,' it added.

The statement came after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif underlined that Tehran would never accept to make a deal through crossing or ignoring its red-lines in the talks with the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, France and Britain plus Germany).

“Time and again, members of the Iranian negotiating delegation and I have stressed that we will certainly not allow the western side to make excessive demands in the nuclear negotiations,” Zarif said in an interview with Iran's state-run television in May.

He reiterated that the negotiating team feels obliged to abide by the Iran's redlines in all issues in the nuclear talks.

The Iranian foreign minister made the remarks in response to a question about the US excessive demands in the nuclear talks, including inspections of Iran’s military sites.

His remarks came after Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated Iran's opposition to the inspection of sensitive military sites and interview with the country's nuclear scientists.

'As said before, no permission will be given for inspection of any military centers and talks with the nuclear scientists and other sensitive fields of study and intrusion into their privacy,' Ayatollah Khamenei said, addressing the Iranian cadets at Imam Hossein University - a renowned military academy of the IRGC - in Tehran.

'I will not allow the aliens to hold talks and interrogate the dear and distinguished scientists and sons of this nation,' he stressed.

Ayatollah Khamenei also referred to the nuclear talks underway between Iran and the world powers, and said one of the challenges facing the talks is the other side's bullying and excessive demands.

But he stressed that the enemies should know that the Iranian nation will not bow to the pressures and excessive demands.

Zarif complained on Friday that change in the stances of the world powers and their excessive demands have prevented attainment of a nuclear deal, and called on the western powers to make up their minds and choose between striking a final deal and keeping the sanctions.

'We have reached a stage now that the other side should decide if it is seeking an agreement or pressure; we have said many times that agreement and pressure cannot come together and one of them should be chosen,' Zarif, also Iran's top negotiator in the talks with the world powers, told reporters in Vienna.

He reiterated that if the other side shows political will and inclination for a balanced and good deal it will be achievable.

Zarif, however, said that unfortunately the other side is showing change in stances and raising excessive demands which make the conditions difficult, adding, 'We are doing our best as Supreme Leader (of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei) and other Iranian officials have said many times we are looking for a good deal and we will continue the negotiations; we have never left the negotiations and we will not in future.'

Late on Thursday night, diplomatic sources in Vienna cautioned that the western powers have toughened their stances after the US lost a self-imposed deadline for a deal with Iran and are raising even more demands from the Iranian team.

The source said the western parties to the talks with Iran, specially the US, have in the last few days raised excessive demands beyond earlier agreements, making the road to a draft final nuclear deal even more bumpy.

The source said Iran is determined to clinch a deal and it has shown much flexibility on this path, but the US-led West has been raising excessive demands and shows 'fading respect for its earlier agreements with Iran'.

'They have started psychological operations and are playing the blame game to make Iran surrender to their increasing demands or wait to be portrayed as the party to blame for the potential failure of the talks,' the diplomat added.

The source also strongly rejected the allegations made by certain western media outlets that the Iranian team is referring the opposite sides' proposals or the draft text to Tehran to ask for permission, reiterating that 'the Iranian team of negotiators have been vested with full authority to strike a deal on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran based on the country's specified redlines, and does not need to refer anything to Tehran.'

The diplomat strongly warned the western powers' approach in the last few days 'is pushing the talks into a deadlock'.

The Geneva interim deal envisaged the removal of all the UN and unilateral US and EU sanctions against Iran under a final comprehensive deal.

Also, in a framework agreement approved by the six powers and Iran in April known as the Lausanne Statement, the seven nations agreed that a final deal would include removal of all sanctions as well as a UN Security Council resolution which would call all the five UNSC sanctions resolutions imposed against Iran's nuclear activities as 'null and void'.

The first two UNSC resolutions boycotted export of military, specially missile, hardware and software to Iran, a sanction that - along with all the other embargoes imposed against Iran under the five UNSC resolutions - would be automatically removed under the new UNSC resolution that, according to the Lausanne framework agreement, should be issued on the same day that the final deal is endorsed.

Hence, the debate over the removal of the UN Security Council arms embargoes against Iran means US defiance of both agreements.

By IRNA