In a Tuesday interview, deputy head of Iran Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, Mansour Haqiqatpour, pointed to the ongoing negotiations between Iran and the world powers, noting, “The member states of P5+1 group - comprising permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany - should recognize Iran's power.”
“Today, if they could reach an agreement with Iran at the negotiating table, they would have achieved agreement with a country which is capable of enriching uranium up to 20 percent. However, if they seek to procrastinate during negotiations, they will face more difficult conditions in future talks,” he pointed out.
Referring to military threats leveled against Iran by Israel and the US, the legislator said, “Iran favors negotiation and dialogue, but when needed, it will defend every bit of its sovereignty and will make the enemy, which may want to invade our soil, regret [that decision] at all levels.”
Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Jalili met with the P5+1 representative, Catherine Ashton, in the follow-up to their previous negotiations on Iran’s nuclear energy program in the Turkish city of Istanbul late on Tuesday.
Ashton and Jalili last met in Moscow in June to discuss issues regarding Iran’s nuclear energy program.
The United States, Israel and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.
Iran argues that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is entitled to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
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