Iran predicts failure of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks

Tehran says Israel would never agree to concede land.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Hassan Rouhani lauging370 (photo credit: REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi)
Hassan Rouhani lauging370
(photo credit: REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi)
Iran predicted on Sunday that the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks would fail, saying Israel would never agree to withdraw from "occupied Arab lands," AFP reported.
"Past experience shows that the occupying Zionist regime is basically not ready to pay the price for peace since war mongering and occupation lie at its very core," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi was quoted by Iranian media as saying.
Tehran expressed its opposition to the US-mediated resumption of talks, and ruled out a two-state solution.
Iran's preferred solution, according to Araqchi, is "the end of occupation ... self-determination for the Palestinians, the return of all refugees to their ancestral land, and the creation of an integrated Palestine with Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital."
Following US Secretary of State John Kerry's announcement on Friday that peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians would restart soon, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, in an effort to mollify any opposition from the Right, told the weekly cabinet meeting that the Palestinians would have to make concessions during negotiations that will enable Israel to ensure its security and protect its vital national interests.