
Speaking to Tasnim on Thursday, Esmail Kowsari, member of the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy commission, stressed that the ongoing nuclear negotiations between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (five permanent members of UN Security Council plus Germany) would by no means cover the issue of Iran�s missile capabilities.
Kowsari also made a reference to Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei�s insistence that Iran-Sextet negotiations should exclusively deal with the nuclear issue , saying the lawmakers have already warned that there is no room for �talk of Iran�s ballistic missiles� in the nuclear negotiations.
His comments came after representatives from Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) launched a decisive phase of diplomacy on Wednesday in the Austrian capital city of Vienna to draft a lasting accord, meant to end years of Western standoff over Tehran�s peaceful nuclear program.
In relevant remarks prior to the resumption of Vienna talks, Iran�s foreign minister and chief negotiator underlined that the issue of the country�s defensive capabilities will by no means be mooted in the nuclear negotiations.
�I assure you that the Islamic Republic�s defense and our defensive capabilities will not be the subject of negotiations,� Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday.
By Tasnim News Agency
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