Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday
rejected further nuclear negotiations with world powers.
'Our nuclear talks from now on be only with the relevant
organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),'
Ahmadinejad said in a press conference in Tehran.
'Any negotiations with world powers would from now on only be
about global management and world peace,' Ahmadinejad added.
Informed diplomatic sources in Tehran said Tuesday that
representatives from the so-called 5+1 - the five permanent members
of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany - were in Iran
and talked with the country's National Security Council on the future
course of the nuclear talks.
According to the sources, Tehran was asked to give at least
signals of readiness to resume nuclear talks on the freeze-for-freeze
basis, which would oblige Iran to freeze its uranium enrichment
programmes and in return, the UN Security Council would freeze
further sanctions against Iran.
The sources added that if Tehran rejected the demand, then the 5+1
would go on with what Secretary of States Hillaray Clinton called
'crippling sanctions.'
'We have a package which we have prepared and are ready to talk on
the basis of this package after the elections,' Ahmadinejad said in a
press conference in Tehran.
The 5+1 is said not to be willing to wait until the June 12
election as in case of a change, a new president would start his job
in August and might form a new nuclear chief negotiator and new
nuclear team which would at least take until autumn.
Ahmadinejad said that Iran would neither allow outsiders to impose
any time schedule on Iran nor make any concession in the nuclear
dispute, including the freeze-for-freeze framework.
'Our nuclear programme is transparent and in line with Nuclear
Non-Proliferation (NPT) and IAEA regulations and there is no need for
talks with anyone outside relevant organizations,' the Iranian
president said.
Tehran says that as NPT signatory and member of the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran had the right to pursue a civil
nuclear programme, including uranium enrichment.
The West however fears that Iran would use the same civil
technology for pursuing a secret nuclear programme.
Also Iran's medium-range missiles whose range - up to 2,000
kilometres - could hit any part of the territories of arch-enemy
Israel have added to concerns in the West, especially in the US.
'We are severely opposed to any kind of nuclear proliferation and
ready to cooperate with all countries for denuclearisation throughout
the world,' Ahmadinejad said while rejecting the charges.
'We believe that the whole world should be committed to help
global nuclear disarmament,' he added.
USA
Your Talkback on this Story