Iranian Leader Opposes Dialog With US, Calling for Resistance

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has expressed strong opposition to dialog with the United States, calling for resistance against US influence,the Islamic Republic News Agency reported Wednesday.

Experiences show that there is no common point between Iran and the US, so dialog and relations with the country would solve no problem, the leader said Tuesday in a meeting with Foreign Ministry officials, including Iranian ambassadors stationed abroad.

The main objective of Washington in proposing dialog is to prepare the ground for imposing its stances and materialize its wishes, Khamenei pointed out.

He urged the Iranian nation to build up on their resistance against US and Western cultural and political influences to "add to the nation's power and dignity."

Tehran and Washington severed diplomatic ties 20 years ago when Islamic radicals stormed the US embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans hostage in the heyday of the Islamic revolution.

The US government has since kept political attacks and economic sanctions on the Islamic republic.

Relations thawed after Iran's moderate President Mohammad Khatami took office in 1997 and the US government even has offered to hold direct dialog with Iran on their differences.

But Iran's conservative hardliners still harbor strong hostility toward Washington, accusing it of trying to stir up unrest in Iran and undermine the Islamic system.

Iran also bitterly criticizes the US-sponsored Middle East peace process, especially the alleged US bias toward Israel, which Iran does not recognize as a legitimate state.

The US government tries to establish a uni-polar world system, but it lacks the political, moral and ideological competence to lead the world, Khamenei noted in his remarks on Tuesday.

He stressed "religious faith" as a tool to protect Iran's national security. Democracy in Iran must be built up on the people's religious beliefs and Iran's democracy must not be influenced by the US and Western countries, he said.

Khamenei, the highest authority of the country, also underlined the importance of diplomacy in strengthening the power of Iran's system.

He called on the Foreign Ministry officials and the ambassadors not to forget their commitment to the system in their talks with various states.



People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/