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Iran hardens stance ahead of nuclear negotiations

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, March 8, IRNA -- Iran pledged Tuesday to `strongly stand 
against` probable pressures as the country braced for a new round 
of nuclear negotiations with the Europeans, which a senior official 
described as `very decisive`. 
"The next few days` negotiations are very decisive in Iran`s 
nuclear dossier," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said of 
the talks which started in Geneva Tuesday and are expected to last for
three days. 
Asked what will Iran do if the Europeans refuse to accept the 
country`s position, Asefi said, "We will strongly stand against them 
and say `no` to their proposals. 
"This is the first time that the Europeans have got involved in a 
big case and want to solve it, thus it is very hard for them. 
"We hope this will not be the last round of negotiations and they 
will continue, but this depends on how the Europeans behave." 
The official stressed that Tehran was not afraid of being referred
to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions. "The rights and 
interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran stand above anything," he 
said. 
"The Iranian people regard access to nuclear technology as their 
obvious right and according to surveys carried out among various 
walks of life, an absolute majority of the Iranians approve of it," 
Asefi added. 
The key sticking point in the negotiations is uranium enrichment 
which Tehran has suspended as a confidence-building gesture since 
last November, but the country insists that it cannot be cajoled to 
sustain the suspension for good. 
The Europeans, represented by Germany, France and Britain, have 
been pressing the Islamic Republic on this in return for a package of 
incentives. 
On Monday, a senior parliamentary official warned the Europeans to
drop asking Iran to permanently suspend uranium enrichment or see 
ongoing nuclear negotiations scrapped. 
"If the Europeans maintain their new language on Iran in the next 
month`s negotiations, it will be our last nuclear negotiations with 
them," the head of parliament`s foreign policy commission, Alaeddin 
Boroujerdi, said. 
"In the last round of negotiations between Iran and the Europeans,
the latter adopted a new language, talking about permanent cessation 
of enrichment," he said, adding naturally, this is by no means 
acceptable to the Islamic Republic of Iran. 
Members of the Iranian negotiating team meet with their European 
counterparts in Geneva this week in their latest round of marathon 
talks to reach a breakthrough in the nuclear standoff. 
On Sunday, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi reiterated Iran`s 
dismissal of challenges to the country`s efforts to master nuclear 
fuel cycle. 
"Access to the technology of nuclear fuel cycle so long as it is 
not aimed at acquiring nuclear weapons while being subject to the 
supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency must not face 
any impediment," he told a forum on nuclear technology held here. 
Asefi hoped Iran would make great achievements in its nuclear 
negotiations. 
"We have had some achievements so far and our nuclear negotiations
over the past few years have never been fruitless," he said. 
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