MP Advises West to Consider Geneva Nuclear Talks as Opportunity
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s talks with six world powers in Geneva would be held in a new atmosphere and the West is thus advised to consider them as an opportunity to address a dispute that has defied solution for several years, said an Iranian lawmaker on Sunday.
“After the 11th presidential election (in Iran) a new atmosphere has emerged and the 5+1 members should take advantage of the new political opportunity ... and the new negotiating team to reach a compromise (with Iran),” Kazem Jalali told Tasnim News Agency in the northern city of Semnan on Sunday.
He emphasized that the nuclear rights of the Iranian nation are to be preserved, arguing, “It is also quite natural that the Islamic Republic of Iran should always emphasize its nuclear rights.”
Jalali also announced Iran’s full readiness to reach an agreement with the West within the framework of the international rules and regulations, and particularly the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Referring to the Islamic Republic’s will to resolve its nuclear dispute with the West through a win-win approach, the Iranian lawmaker said the G5+1 -- which includes the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany -- has to do its share to make this approach a reality.
Talks about Iran's nuclear program will take place on October 15-16 in Geneva.
The team of Iranian negotiators will reportedly include Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Seyed Abbas Araqchi, Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi, Foreign Ministry's Director-General for the Economic and Specialized International Affairs Hamid Ba'eedinejad, Foreign Minister's Legal Adviser Davoud Mohammadnia, and Mohammad Amiri from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).
Some sources have quoted Araqchi as saying he will lead the Iranian team in the talks with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and representatives from the G5+1 countries.
This will be the first round of negotiations since Iranian President Hassan Rouhani took office in early August. The last meeting between Iran and the G5+1 in the Kazakh city of Almaty ended with an impasse in April.
Zarif has recently said that he and his negotiating team are going to offer a new set of proposals during the upcoming talks with the six world powers in Geneva.
But Zarif has said in the past that the country's right to peaceful nuclear enrichment was no-negotiable.
