“I am optimistic about the future of nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) and the win-win outcome of these talks,” the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said on Saturday.
The United States, Israel and some of their allies falsely claim that Iran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program, with the US and the European Union using the unfounded allegation as a pretext to impose illegal sanctions on Iran.
Tehran strongly rejects the claim against its nuclear energy program, maintaining that as a committed signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Commenting on the change in US approach towards Syria, Salehi said Washington had two options with regards to its policy on Damascus.
“The first was to launch an extensive military attack against Syria, like its attack on Iraq, which would have had an uncertain future because of the country’s geographic location and the existence of neighboring countries such as Jordan, Iraq, Turkey and the Zionist regime [of Israel] that each are facing various problems,” Salehi added.
“The other option was to launch missile attack against Syria which would not have overthrown the Syrian government. Therefore the US chose wisely.”
The war rhetoric against Syria intensified after foreign-backed opposition forces accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of launching a chemical attack against militant strongholds on the suburbs of Damascus on August 21.
Damascus vehemently denied the accusation, saying the attack was a false-flag operation carried out by militants to provoke foreign intervention.
On September 9, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said Damascus welcomed a proposal by Russia for the Syrian chemical weapons to be put under international control for subsequent annihilation.
In response, US President Barack Obama said plans for a military strike against Syria could be averted if the Syrian “gesture” regarding the Russian proposal is “real.”
