Iran urges cooperative approach in talks

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast says the new approach of major world powers towards Tehran should be based on constructive cooperation.

Earlier on Monday Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili and EU Foreign Affairs Chief Catherine Ashton held the first round of the multifaceted talks between Iran and the P5+1 — Britain, China, France, Russia, and the US plus Germany — in Geneva.

“Obviously the approach of this group’s (the P5+1) members in negotiations will determine its results,” Mehmanparast told IRNA on Monday.

If the P5+1 pursues the policy of “pressure and dialogue at the same time,” they should know that Iranian official will never give up on the nation’s rights and will not negotiate on these rights, Mehmanparast added.

If the present talks do not yield any results, the negotiating countries will be directly held responsible, so our advice is that they use this opportunity, the Iranian official said.

“Western countries had better make use of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s powerful presence and the cooperation of other independent countries to compensate for the policies which have resulted in crises and tension in different parts of the world.”

Talks have been scheduled for December 6 and 7. However, Tehran says the talks will be held on one day only and will not include the nuclear issue, as the case has been resolved.

Dialogue between Iran and the P5+1 has been stalled since October 1, 2009, when the two sides met in Geneva.

During negotiations in Geneva, the Vienna Group — France, Russia, the US, and the International Atomic Energy Agency — offered to ship most of Iran’s low-enriched uranium out of the country in exchange for reactor fuel from Russia and France.

The Western refusal to offer Tehran objective guarantees in the fuel swap proposal led to Iran issuing a nuclear declaration with Turkey and Brazil on May 17 to ease concerns in the West.

Under the declaration, Iran agreed to ship most of its low enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for fuel.

The US and its allies snubbed the declaration and used their influence on the UN Security Council to press for fresh sanctions against Tehran over the country’s nuclear program.

Iranian officials have repeatedly refuted the accusations, arguing that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the IAEA, Tehran has the right to use peaceful nuclear technology.