A senior Iranian official says in talks with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, Iran seeks its nuclear rights under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Sunday that the P5+1 group of world powers lifted preconditions to speed up the outcome during talks held in the Turkish city of Istanbul on April 14.

He added that the NPT forms the backbone of Iran’s nuclear talks with the P5+1, which the two sides have agreed upon.

Mehmanparast further said that Western governments have failed to remain committed to the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and provided the Israeli regime with nuclear warheads in clear violation of the NPT.

The Iranian official highlighted that the Islamic Republic of Iran never wants to divert its nuclear program towards nuclear weapons production, and considers uranium enrichment for civilian use as its legitimate right.

Iran and the six world powers wrapped up their meeting in Baghdad on May 24 after two days of negotiations.

The Iranian negotiating delegation was headed by the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili, and the delegations of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany were headed by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Ashton said on May 25 that Iran and the P5+1 shared common grounds and desired progress in the latest round of talks in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad,

“It is clear that we both want to make progress, and that there is some common ground," said Ashton, who formally led the P5+1 delegations in the multifaceted talks, in a joint press conference in Baghdad with Iran’s Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili.

She added, however, that some differences still remained.

Iran and the P5+1 have agreed to hold another round of talks in Moscow on June 18-19.
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News ID 181848