P5+1 dragging feet over Iran Nuclear talks

An Iranian lawmaker says the P5+1 group seeks to put off negotiations with the Islamic Republic until the country’s coming presidential election.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran announced its readiness for a new round of talks with the P5+1 long ago but the group seeks to kill time and uses any excuse to put off the negotiations with Iran,” Ahmad Bakhshayesh-Ardestani, a member of Majlis Foreign Policy and National Security, said Saturday.

He rejected the claim by the US that Iran is delaying talks by failing to agree to a proposal on the venue and time of the next round of talks.

“The claim of US officials is false and it is clear to anyone that the P5+I and the US on top of it seek to waste time in nuclear talks with Tehran,” he stressed.

The US and Western countries of the P5+1 — comprising – Britain, China, France, Russia and the US plus Germany — seek to delay nuclear talks with Iran and kill time until the 11th presidential election so that they can change the process of negotiations, he added.

The Iranian lawmaker said Tehran is always ready for a new round of negotiations within the framework of international law and based on a fair approach, adding the country calls for a mutual agreement on the place and time of the talks.

Iran and the P5+1 group have held several rounds of multifaceted talks mainly over the Iranian nuclear energy issue.

On January 25, the P5+1 group called for the postponement of nuclear talks with Iran to February, saying they are not ready to negotiate with the Islamic Republic this month.

The United States, Israel and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Iran argues that as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation treaty and a member of International Atomic Energy Agency it is entitled to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.