The new deadline – at least for now – for the Iranian nuclear negotiations falls on an Iranian holiday calling for the destruction of Israel.
In a twist of irony, the new deadline for nuclear negotiations with Iran falls on Quds Day, an annual Iranian holiday dedicated to calling for the destruction of Israel. Quds Day was established in 1979 by Ayatollah Ali Khomeini, leader of the Islamic Revolution, taking place on the last Friday of each Ramadan to remind Muslims of their “religious duty” to “liberate” the land of Israel from the Jews.
The P5+1 rejected demands by Israel that the nuclear agreement require Iran to recognize Israel and stop funding terrorism in the Middle East.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a press release on Wednesday saying that the Palestinian issue and pursuing a strategy for the destruction of Israel are the Muslims world’s top priorities. According to Iran’s Tansim news agency, the IRGC described “the Zionist regime” as the common enemy of Islamic nations.
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan on Monday accused Israel of giving support to ISIS in order to “occupy the land from the Nile to the Euphrates,” referring to a common anti-Israel conspiracy theory. He said that Israel supports Sunni terrorist groups in order to sow discord between Muslims and that Quds Day is strategically important in foiling this “evil plot.”
President Hassan Rouhani issued his own statement ahead of Quds Day, calling it an opportunity for people to “express their disgust at the Zionist regime,” which he accused of supporting al-Qaeda affiliates in the region. Rouhani linked the day with the nuclear negotiations, saying, “Participation of [Iranian] people at the Quds Day [rallies] amid the negotiations will be sort of strong support for their own rights and dignity.”
Nonetheless, the P5+1 has made clear that its sole goal in the nuclear negotiations is to reach an agreement to limit temporarily Iran’s nuclear program rather than to address Iran’s destructive role in the Middle East. “The notion that we would condition Iran not getting nuclear weapons in a verifiable deal on Iran recognizing Israel is really akin to saying that we won’t sign a deal unless the nature of the Iranian regime completely transforms,” said US President Barack Obama to NPR in April. “And that is, I think, a fundamental misjudgment.”
By: Sara Abramowicz, United with Israel
