P5+1 must recognize Iran nuclear right: Official

The secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council says the six world powers of P5+1 must recognize Tehran’s legitimate right to nuclear energy as the progress of the Iranian nation cannot be obstructed.

“The P5+1 countries (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) have no way but to accept Iran’s rightful demands,” said Mohsen Rezaei in a Friday speech in the Northeastern city of Mashhad.

Rezaei pointed out that the P5+1 has no right to hinder the Iranian nation’s progress by using unfounded excuses and called on the world powers to respect Iran’s “legal rights” to make headway in all spheres.

The comments came one day after Iran and the P5+1 wrapped up their final meeting in Baghdad on Thursday evening after two earlier sessions of negotiations on Thursday and Wednesday.

The two sides agreed to hold another round of talks in Moscow on June 18-19.

On the first day of the negotiations, Iran offered a comprehensive package to the P5+1; while a European Union spokesman, Michael Mann, told Press TV that the group’s representatives put forward a set of new proposals to Tehran.

Sources close to the Iranian delegation said Iran maintains that its demands, including the lifting of the sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic, must be met.

The previous round of the talks between Iran and the P5+1 was held in the Turkish city of Istanbul on April 14.

Prior to the April meeting, Iran and the P5+1 had held two rounds of negotiations, one in Geneva, Switzerland, in December 2010, and another again in Istanbul, Turkey, in January 2011.