Iran not to bow to pressure: Rouhani

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has expressed optimism about a final agreement with the P5+1 on Tehran’s nuclear energy program, stressing the Islamic Republic would never succumb to pressure and bullying.

“…I am not pessimistic about the negotiations, but reaching a final agreement at the end of a six-month period depends on whether or not the opposite side is ready for proper interaction,” Rouhani said in a live televised interview on Tuesday night.

“The country (Iran) and Iranian nation are ready to speak to the world with reasoning, logic and constructive interaction, and also to sit down at the negotiating table but they have never bowed to pressure, bullying and wrongful statements, and will never do so,” the president added.

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the US, France, Britain, Russia, China – plus Germany reached an interim nuclear deal on November 24, 2013, in the Swiss city of Geneva to set the stage for the full settlement of the dispute over Iran’s program. The deal took effect on January 20.

Under the Geneva deal, the six countries agreed to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Iran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during a six-month period. It was also agreed that no nuclear-related sanctions would be imposed on the Islamic Republic within the same time frame.

The Iranian president said Tehran and the six countries took one step toward resolving the nuclear dispute by signing the interim deal, adding more steps should be taken in the future to settle the issue in the final agreement.

“We should proceed with this trend in line with the rights of the Iranian nation and [the country’s] red lines,” Rouhani stated.

In the negotiations and the agreement with the West, Iran has always pursued transparency and confidence-building measures, he noted.

“Iran has never sought weapons and will never do so and we have no fear of expressing this issue transparently in order to build more confidence,” he pointed out.

The president said the lifting of illegal sanctions imposed on Iran by the United Nations is a right of the Iranian nation, expressing hope all bans would be removed in the final agreement