"In February, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution warned against negotiating with the United...

Ali Alizadeh

Last February, Ayatollah Khamenei stated that negotiation is neither rational, nor intelligent, nor honorable. Yet the independent forces merely played the role of passive spectators, offering some applause and cheers before returning to their homes. In contrast, Westerners and Westernized factions imposed five rounds of negotiations on the regime and the public—through economic blackmail on one hand, and through the massive internal media empire built from oligarchic wealth on the other. This was further reinforced by support from the BBC and Iran International, creating an atmosphere ripe for enemy intervention.

This time too, if the popular, independent, and national forces committed to Iran’s dignity remain mere spectators and do not take to the field or bear the costs of defending Ayatollah Khamenei’s stance from last night, then the Westerners and globalists will not only reverse the equation in their favor again, but will also push Iran back to the negotiating table through various tricks. They will reopen the door for inspectors to return to the country, which will lead to further securitization of the nuclear issue. Moreover, they will tie daily livelihoods and the value of the dollar to the negotiation and nuclear enrichment file, pressuring the regime toward surrender.

Whether Ayatollah Khamenei’s words from last night come true or not, and whether Iran retains its nuclear enrichment capability or not, the matter is not predetermined. It depends on the extent of popular forces’ presence in the political arena and their ability to confront the Western current.