Failure of Iran nuclear talks won’t be end of world: Zarif

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says it will not be “the end of the world” if the Islamic Republic and six world powers fail to reach a final comprehensive nuclear deal, stressing that the Iranian nation is ready to make sacrifices for the sake of its own rights and dignity.

If the diplomacy fails, Zarif told the New Yorker, “it won’t be the end of the world.”

“The US will have lost a major opportunity, probably unique. But, for us, our population is accustomed to making necessary sacrifices to preserve its dignity and its rights.”

He added, “It’s not about nationalism or chauvinism. It’s simply about having historical depth. Several years are a brief period in the history of a country with millennia as its depth.”

On Tuesday, the Iranian parliament approved the details of a bill requiring the government to safeguard the country’s nuclear rights in a possible deal with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, Britain, China, France and Russia – plus Germany.

During an open session of the parliament, the bill was approved with 213 votes in favor, 10 against and five abstentions. It demands that the total removal of anti-Iran sanctions be included in the text of any final nuclear agreement with the six countries, and urges the lifting of all sanctions imposed on Iran on the same day that the Islamic Republic starts to fulfill its obligations under a final accord.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will be authorized to go ahead with its conventional and regular inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities within the framework of its Safeguards Agreement, according to the bill, though the agency will not be allowed access to Iranian scientists, military sites and sensitive non-nuclear facilities “under any pretext.”

The bill further underscores that Iran brooks no limitations to its scope of activities to develop peaceful nuclear technology and to conduct procurement and production work in the field of research and development (R&D).

High-ranking nuclear negotiators from Iran and the P5+1 are seeking to finalize a comprehensive deal on the Islamic Republic’s civilian nuclear activities by the end of June.

A final deal will be based on the mutual understanding reached on the key parameters of such an agreement in the Swiss city of Lausanne on April 2.