“We told the P5+1 [representatives] that you accuse Iran of nuclear diversion while we have expressed our opposition to nuclear weapons in the most emphatic way, based on a religious decree by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution [Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei], and now are concerned that our rights are not recognized and thus are seeking an explanation,” the deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Ali Baqeri, said in a televised interview with IRIB late on Monday.
Baqeri added that in response to the demand made by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton that Iran freeze 20-percent uranium enrichment, close the Fordow nuclear facility, and transfer its stockpiles of 20-percent enriched uranium out of the country, Iran’s main nuclear negotiator, SNSC Secretary Saeed Jalili, presented precise and legal explanations.
Baqeri said that Iran's proposals had several important features, namely that the broad plan included nuclear as well as non-nuclear issues and was entirely based on agreements reached during the previous Istanbul II and Baghdad negotiations.
During the talks with the P5+1 group, Jalili pointed to Article 4 of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), saying that based on that article, the signatory states are allowed to enrich uranium, Baqeri stated.
He went on to say that during the Moscow talks, Iranian negotiators also reminded the P5+1 representatives of documented statements by US officials recognizing the right of NPT signatories to engage in uranium enrichment.
During the negotiations, Jalili stated several times that the UN Security Council resolutions passed against Iran were illegitimate and violated the UN Charter, Baqeri said.
Baqeri also described the outlook of the negotiations with the P5+1 group as “clear and forward-looking,” noting that if the P5+1 group violates the principles agreed to during earlier talks, it will be to their detriment.
Iran and the P5+1 group -- Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States plus Germany -- wrapped up two days of talks in Moscow on June 19.
At the heart of the Moscow negotiations was Iran’s nuclear energy program, with Tehran standing firm on its inalienable right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.
The two sides have agreed to continue the talks at expert level meetings in Istanbul on July 3.
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Iran says the package of proposals it presented during the latest round of talks with the P5+1 group in Moscow was both comprehensive and feasible, in contrast to the plan put forward by the other side.
News ID 181993
