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US must stop repeating previous positions toward Iran: Rafsanjani

IRNA

Tehran, Jan 9, IRNA -- Chairman of the Expediency Council (EC) Akbar 
Hashemi Rafsanjani said here on Friday that the US must stop its 
previous positions toward Iran if it wants to re-establish ties with 
the Islamic Republic. 
"If the US wants to extend a hand of friendship toward Iran, it 
must stop repeating its past remarks against the Islamic Republic," 
Rafsanjani said in a sermon of Tehran Friday prayers. 
"The US cannot be interested in re-establishing relations with the
Islamic Republic with the same baseless remarks of the past." 
He said the US has always been carrying out hostilities against 
Iran over the past years, and said Washington has taken many measures 
against Iran and Muslims all over those years. 
Rafsanjani further recalled the presence of US medics in Iran to 
help the victims of the devastating earthquake of Bam, stressing that 
the presence of the medics showed that the US still needs to have 
relations with Iran. 
"The measure that the Americans took toward Bam quake, and the 
welcome that was extended to them in Iran, made them think about 
continuing their policy that they need to establish relations with 
Iran," he said. 
Rafsanjani stressed that the US took a rash decision in sending a 
delegation to Iran, adding that the measure was even `suspicious`. 
The White House, he said, acted imprudently in that connection. 
"Our first understanding of this was that they want to use this 
situation for finding a way to negotiate. The big mistake of Mr. Bush 
was that in his speech he simultaneously repeated past remarks against
Iran," Rafsanjani told worshipers at Tehran University campus. 
"It is Iran`s right to ask that if you -- the Americans -- want 
to extend a hand of friendship toward Iran, you should not repeat your
past remarks against Iran all of which are lies." 
The former Iranian president said the hopes for the Americans for 
re-establishing ties with Iran had faded when US President George W 
Bush had in his speech repeated his previous allegations against the 
Islamic Republic. 
"Maybe the Americans are trying to say that Washington is wise and
is trying to resolve the problems by these measures and that Tehran 
is being stubborn," Rafsanjani said. 
"This is while we have always spoken according to the principles."
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End