Iran will not give up nuclear right: Velayati

As Tehran and the P5+1 group are set to hold a new round of nuclear talks, a senior Iranian official says Tehran will not relinquish its right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

“With the firm determination that is based on safeguarding the Iranian nation’s right to use peaceful nuclear energy, the Islamic Republic of Iran will be present at the (nuclear) talks with the P5+1 group and will by no means give up this right,” Ali Akbar Velayati, who is a top advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, told IRNA on Tuesday.

Velayati further expressed confidence about the method used by the Iranian negotiating team with the six world powers, saying that the Iranian negotiators are “experienced and committed to the interests and fundamentals of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Stressing that the framework of the talks between Iran and the P5+1 is clear, Velayati said the basis of the negotiations has been outlined by the Leader.

Earlier in November 2013, Ayatollah Khamenei defended the Iranian negotiating team against criticism, warning that no one should undermine or insult the negotiating team or label them as being inclined toward reaching a compromise over Iran’s nuclear energy program.

The fresh negotiations between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, China, Russia, France and Britain – plus Germany will open in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Tuesday.

The two sides plan to start drafting the text of a comprehensive agreement aimed at fully resolving the decade-old dispute between the West and Tehran over the latter’s nuclear energy program.