Iran's Ahmadinejad rejects nuclear talks with world powers available soon (Roundup)

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.