A senior Iranian lawmaker says the continuation of uranium enrichment is an unwavering principle for Iran and any cooperation with world powers on this issue will depend on lifting international sanctions against Tehran.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi said Wednesday that the Iranian nation expects the P5+1 - the US, France, Russia, China, and Britain plus Germany - to respect Iran's enrichment right.

“To prove its goodwill in the Moscow talks, the P5+1 should remove [sanctions] resolutions adopted by the UN and the Security Council against Iran from its agenda and provide conditions in which the Islamic Republic of Iran can achieve a final agreement with the P5+1,” he added.

The lawmaker, who headed the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the eighth Iranian Majlis (parliament), said any cooperation on enrichment will depend on the P5+1’s cooperation in removing sanctions against Iran.

“The P5+1 must correct their past mistakes and to do this, the most important step is to put the lifting of sanctions on their agenda,” he said.

Boroujerdi emphasized that the P5+1 should provide conditions for interaction between the two sides which will enable them to achieve an understanding based on mutual interests.

Iran and the P5+1 restarted multifaceted talks, which focused on the Iranian nuclear energy program, in Istanbul on April 14, 2012, after a 15-month hiatus.

Tehran and the P5+1 had already held two rounds of talks, one in Geneva in December 2010, and the other one in Istanbul in January 2011.

Following the talks, both sides described negotiations as positive and constructive.

The second round of the new talks between the two sides opened in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, on May 23, after which the negotiators agreed to continue the next round of the negotiations in Russia’s capital, Moscow, on June 18-19.

The US and EU accuse Iran of diversion toward military goals in its nuclear energy program and have imposed international and unilateral sanctions on Tehran using such claims as pretext.

Rejecting the allegations, Tehran says as a committed member of the IAEA and a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, it is entitled to all peaceful uses of the nuclear technology.
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News ID 181861