Iran Ready to Reciprocate Confidence-Building Measure of G5+1: MP


Iran Ready to Reciprocate Confidence-Building Measure of G5+1: MP

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Some members of Iran's nuclear negotiating team attended a session of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission on Sunday and briefed them on some details of talks with the six world powers in Geneva.

“The session was attended by some members of the negotiating team with the 5+1 and members of the National Security Commission in which we were briefed on the issues raised and debated during the the Geneva talks,” said Mohammad Hassan Asafari, a member of the commission, who added all the participants were unanimous in opposing any suggestion to either suspend enrichment or shut down nuclear facilities.

He hailed the efforts of the negotiating team, saying that such talks have to continue for both sides to reach the desired goals and that parliament was ready to cooperate with the government to expedite the process, but cautioned the six world powers not to try to derail negotiations through coercion or pressure, as, he said, it would lead Iran to revise its policies and recat in kind..

 The discussions in Geneva brought together Iranian officials and representatives of the G5+1 - the permanent members of the UN Security Council (Britain, China, France, Russia and the US) plus Germany - also known as the P5+1 or E3+3.

The two sides wrapped up two days of discussions in Geneva on Wednesday. Further talks will take place on November 7-8 in Geneva, which are to be preceded by sessions attended by scientific and sanctions experts to address differences and to develop practical steps.

Asafari called on the G5+1, the US in particular, to take confidence-building steps through lifting sanctions on Iran for the "wall of distrust" to be gradually removed.

"If we notice that only Iran takes positive step which are not reciprocated by the other side, it will definitely have a negative effect on the future of the negotiations," he warned.

He called on the US to change course and abandon its generation-old policy of putting pressure on Iran -- as he said it has only made the country stronger and more resilient --  and asked American officials to join Tehran in the pursuit of a win-win outcome.

In Geneva, Tehran presented a three-step plan that aims to bring the standoff over the Islamic Republic’s peaceful nuclear program to an end. Araqchi said Tehran would consider talks on the level of uranium enrichment, as well as adoption of the Additional Protocol, in the final stage of its proposed plan offered in Geneva.

The Additional Protocol also substantially expands the IAEA's ability to check for clandestine nuclear facilities by providing the agency with authority to visit any facility, declared or not, to investigate questions about or inconsistencies in a state's nuclear declarations. NPT states-parties are not required to adopt an additional protocol, although the IAEA is urging all to do so.

Iran, a signatory of the NPT, voluntarily implemented the additional protocol between 2003 and 2005 but ceased to apply it after its nuclear case was sent to the United Nations Security Council. The country's parliament has not ratified the document.

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