TEHRAN -- If the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) seek comprehensive and long-term nuclear cooperation with Iran, they should forget about sanctions, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani said here on Sunday.

“If you want to have comprehensive and long-term cooperation with Iran, you should not talk about sanctions and if you do so, we will think that you have other intentions in making proposals,” the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) quoted him as saying in a question-and-answer meeting with the managing directors of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).

Iran responded to the group’s nuclear package Tuesday, calling for “serious talks” to resolve the nuclear dispute between Tehran and the West.

Larijani said that Iran will continue uranium enrichment and intends to produce its own nuclear fuel.

Iran’s nuclear technology has become indigenous and everything is domestically produced, he added.

“Those who threaten us with sanctions are well aware that Iran had to face international sanctions to develop its nuclear equipment,” he said.

“And it is irreversible.”

The UN Security Council has demanded Iran suspend nuclear fuel work by August 31 or face the threat of sanctions.

“We don’t want to enter into a lose-lose game. If they interact with Iran, the outcome will be achieved in a friendly way,” Iran’s top nuclear negotiator said.

If the path of cooperation is chosen, it will benefit both Iran and the West, he pointed out.

Iran ready for talks with 5+1 group's FMs

Larijani also said on Sunday that Iran is prepared to hold talks with the foreign ministers of the 5+1 group at any time and in any location.

He told IRNA that such negotiations can cover all ongoing developments including the nuclear issue.

Larijani said talks with member of the 5+1 group states (France, the U.S., Britain, China, Russia, and Germany) should be held in a fair and constructive atmosphere.

When Iran's response to the group's package of incentives was delivered on August 22, the representatives of the six countries were informed that Iran was prepared to start negotiations on the issue the following day, he stated.

Later on, during contacts with various officials from the group, Iran officially repeated that it is prepared to start serious talks on the matter, the SNSC secretary added.