An Iranian lawmaker has called on Western powers to shift toward a moderate approach vis--vis Iran in the course of the negotiations over the Islamic Republic's nuclear energy program.Parties to the talks with Iran suspended the negotiations long ago due to the elections in Iran; but now that they welcome the election of [Hassan] Rohani [as Irans new president], they should shift their approaches from extremism to moderation, said Hossein Naqavi-Hosseini, the spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Irans Majlis on Tuesday.
Iran and the P5+1 - Russia, China, France, Britain, and the United States plus Germany - have held several rounds of talks, mainly over the Iranian nuclear energy program.
On whether a fresh round of talks is likely to be held between Iran and the P5+1 in mid-August, Naqavi-Hosseini said, In the course of its nuclear talks with the Western sides, the Islamic Republic of Iran has built the necessary confidence, and (now) it is awaiting a change in approach on the part of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the P5+1.
The legislator also alluded to Rohanis experience as Irans chief nuclear negotiator from October 2003 to August 2005, and noted that the president-elect was fully cognizant of the principles of Irans foreign policy and its red lines.
He said Western countries should not expect the change of the president in Iran to lead to a major shift in Tehrans stance in the trend of the talks.
The US, Israel, and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program and used the unfounded allegation as a pretext to impose illegal sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Tehran has categorically rejected the accusation, arguing that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the IAEA, it is entitled to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Meanwhile, numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities by the IAEA have never found any evidence showing that the Iranian nuclear energy program has been diverted toward non-civilian purposes.
By Press TV
The Iran Project is not responsible for the content of quoted articles.
