Iran is willing to discuss limits in the level to which it enriches uranium but will never suspend the process altogether, the deputy foreign minister said in comments reported Sunday.
Iran
is
willing to discuss limits in the level to which it enriches uranium but will
never suspend the process altogether, the deputy foreign minister said in
comments reported Sunday.
"Over the past 10 years, we have insisted that a total suspension of
uranium enrichment is out of the question," said Deputy Foreign Minister
Abbas Araqchi, who plays a key role in nuclear talks with the West.
"But during the negotiations we could discuss the framework, level, method
and site [of enrichment] on condition that this does not undermine enrichment
and
Iran
's
right," the ISNA news agency quoted him as saying.
His comments come after Iran held talks with foreign ministers of the major
powers Thursday on the framework for negotiations on its nuclear program which
are due to be held in Geneva Oct. 15-16.
The West wants major concessions from
Iran
including the suspension of all enrichment of uranium beyond the level required
to fuel nuclear power plants, and the closure of
Iran
's
underground enrichment facility near the central city of
Qom
.
Iran
insists that its nuclear drive is entirely peaceful in nature and that it is
enriching uranium to 5% and 20% only to generate electricity and for medical
purposes.
In February,
Iran
's
Western interlocutors proposed that
Iran
suspend enrichment at 20% in exchange for an easing of international sanctions
that have crippled the Iranian economy.
Araqchi insisted that the talks with the so-called P5+1 group--the U.K., China,
France, Russia and the United States plus Germany--must lead to the lifting of
sanctions "and the recognition of Iran's right to enrich uranium."
"Iran stands ready to lift any concerns" the West has about its
nuclear program, he said.
He added that lifting sanctions and the nuclear issue were central to the
historic telephone conversation Friday between Iranian President Hasan Rohani
and his
U.S.
counterpart Barack Obama.
The 15-minute call marked the first contact between leaders of the two
countries since diplomatic relations were severed in the aftermath of the 1979
Islamic revolution.
Foreign Minster Mohammad Javas Zarif has said he hopes for a deal within a year
to allay international concerns about
Iran
's
nuclear drive.
Uranium enrichment lies at the center of Western concerns about
Iran
's
nuclear ambitions. The sensitive process can produce fuel for nuclear power
stations or, in highly extended form, the core of an atomic bomb.
Διαβάστε ακόμα
Παρ, 26 Ιουλίου 2024 - 16:04
Παρ, 26 Ιουλίου 2024 - 16:02
Τετ, 24 Ιουλίου 2024 - 15:10
Τετ, 24 Ιουλίου 2024 - 15:06
Τρι, 23 Ιουλίου 2024 - 16:51