“We are optimistic about the future of negotiations and want the other sides to put their words into action,” Mehmanparast told reporters in Zagreb, Croatia, on Wednesday.
He added that the latest round of Iran-P5+1 talks in Istanbul was held in a positive atmosphere, noting that the sides agreed to cooperate on the basis of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Iran and the P5+1 - Russia, China, Britain, France, the US and Germany -- wrapped up their latest negotiations in the Turkish city of Istanbul on April 14 and agreed to hold the next round of the talks in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on May 23, 2012. Both sides hailed the talks as constructive.
Tehran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany previously held two rounds of talks, one in Geneva in December 2010 and another in Istanbul in January 2011.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman also blasted the United States for ‘violating’ the NPT regulations and said Washington possesses half of the world’s atomic weapons.
“There are certain countries which are threatening to use nuclear weapons if necessary. The US and France are among such countries,” he stated.
Mehmanparast further pointed out that Western powers have provided Israel with more than 200 nuclear warheads. They did not observe the policy of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
The spokesman, however, added that “All nuclear activities of Iran are peaceful and all our sites are under the surveillance of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) cameras.”
He rejected the claims that Iran may develop nuclear weapons in the future and emphasized that the Islamic Republic has always been calling for dismantling of all nuclear weapons.
The United States, Israel, and some of their allies accuse Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear energy program.
Iran refutes such allegations, arguing that as a committed signatory to the NPT and a member of the IAEA, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Unlike Iran, Israel is a non-signatory to the NPT and continues to defy international calls to join the treaty.
Israel, which is widely believed to possess between 200 to 400 nuclear warheads, maintains a policy of deliberate ambiguity over its nuclear work.
press tv/281
Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has expressed optimism about the next round of talks between Tehran and the six major world powers (P5+1) in Baghdad, calling on the group to take practical steps.
News ID 181717
