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MP: Iran Not to Hold Talks with US on “Unequal Footings”

Iran Not to Hold Talks with US
A senior Iranian legislator said that Tehran will never succumb to the US pressures and it will not participate in talks with Washington on unequal footings.

“The US should prove its goodwill in practice,” Majid Mansouri told FNA on Tuesday.

He said that if the US wants to start an “unequal equation” which doesn’t meet Iran’s interests, such talks will be unhelpful and incur damage on Iran.

Under such conditions “we will never be ready for negotiations”, Mansouri said.

In relevant remarks on Thursday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tehran rejects the US proposal for talks because of Washington’s attitude being from the position of pressure and imposition.

Ahmadinejad, who was in Cairo to attend the 12th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), stressed that talks must be based on “understanding”.

“Americans have recently changed their tune and if they also change they actions and approach and respect justice and the rights of the Iranian nation we will consider their proposals positively,” he underscored.

His remarks came after Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei on Thursday dismissed the US offer of direct talks with Iran, saying that the proposal has been made in word, while Washington’s actions show a different course, meaning that the offer is nothing but a cunning move.

Addressing a gathering of Iranian Air Force commanders and personnel here in Tehran, the Leader rejected the US statesmen’s remarks that the ball is now in Iran’s court, and said, “The ball is in your court because you should answer and say if speaking of negotiations concurrent with pressures and threats basically bears any meaning.”

“Negotiation is meant to prove the goodwill. But you make tens of (hostile) actions with ill intention and then speak of negotiations in words. Can the Iranian nation believe that you are driven by goodwill,” the Leader continued.

He further stated that the US needs talks with Iran because Washington’s Middle-East policy has proved as a failure and Americans need to show a winning ace to repair their damaged reputation.

The Iranian Supreme Leader’s remarks came after US Vice-President Joe Biden, speaking at this year’s Munich Security Conference, reiterated previous indications that the US was prepared to talk one-on-one with Iran.

The United States and Iran broke diplomatic relations in April 1980, after Iranian students seized the United States’ espionage center at its embassy in Tehran. The two countries have had tense relations ever since, but have shown willingness to attend talks to help resolve regional issues, including security in Iraq. Yet, the two countries have avoided talks on bilateral issues for the last thirty years.

Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, while they have never presented any corroborative evidence to substantiate their allegations. Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

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