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| Time to resolve dispute on Iran’s nuclear program ‘not unlimited’: Rohani |
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.jpg) TEHRAN – Iranian President Hassan Rohani has said that time for resolving the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program was “not unlimited”, urging world powers to seize the opportunity.
He made the remarks during a live interview on state television late on Tuesday.
Iran has held several rounds of negotiations with major world powers and the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency on its nuclear program for more than a decade, and has been subjected to several rounds of UN and Western sanctions.
The last round of talks with the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) was held in April in Kazakhstan.
Iran says it is enriching uranium only for medical purposes and fueling nuclear power stations.
The talks have so far failed to produce a breakthrough.
Rohani said that Iran is ready to engage in serious talks with the world over its nuclear program, underlining that the Islamic Republic has already taken the initial steps by tasking its Foreign Ministry to conduct the negotiations.
However, he emphasized that no one can deprive Iran of its “inalienable rights including enriching [uranium] on its land within the framework of international regulations and under the supervision of the [International Atomic Energy] Agency meant for peaceful purposes.”
“If other countries have concerns [in this regard] we will allay them. We seek to have mutual respect, reciprocal trust, and equal rights in this issue” he added.
“Our frameworks include international regulations and the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” Rohani said, adding, “I am confident, should the other side have a firm will to resolve the dispute over the nuclear issue, it would be settled within a short period.”
“In the nuclear issue the end of the game must be a win-win game. Win-lose has no meaning,” he said. “We can have a win-win game; I think the beginning of this work will start in New York.”
Elsewhere in his remarks, Rohani spoke about Russia’s proposal on Syria in efforts to prevent a U.S.-led strike on the Arab country and said that Iran welcomes any initiative to avert a war in the region.
The Russians announced their proposal on Monday after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking in London, said the only way to halt an attack would be for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to relinquish his arsenal of chemical weapons.
“There is much probability that the risk of war has reduced,” Rohani said.
“We are completely opposed to chemical weapons and believe that the whole region should be free from chemical weapons” Rohani said. “If, God forbid, a war breaks out, we perceive this war to be very dangerous for the region which would have catastrophic consequences.”
MT/PA
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