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Iran vows to continue talks with EU if uranium enrichment is resumed

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Hassan Rowhani said here Saturday that Iran is ready to continue nuclear talks with the EU if it resumes uranium enrichment.

Speaking on the sidelines of a visit to just opened Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA), he told reporters that "all Iran nuclear activities are peaceful."
On the likelihood of Iran's case sent to UN Security Council if Tehran resumes uranium enrichment, he said that "I do not think such a step is being contemplated."
In Iran's proposal to the EU which may be presented to the international community in the near future all the necessary provisions have been delineated, he underlined
The proposal stipulates that all the nuclear fuel cycle activities will be peaceful and the manifest is drawn such that will provide objective political and legal guarantees to that effect, the SNSC secretary added.

"Tehran has prepared itself in all the conceivable ways to give assurances to the world that its activities are peaceful." "Sending the case to Security Council is meaningless and irrelevant," Rowhani retorted.

Washington may indeed want to muddy the waters, however I do not think that the manner of our approach to the issue, leaves any legal and technical justification for sending the case to the Security Council.

He further declined to reveal the key points of Iran's proposal to the EU publicly saying that "if warranted the proposal will be gradually announced."
Rowhani stressed that the nature of proposal put forth will assure the world of the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program.

He also brushed aside suggestion linking nuclear talks and Iran 9th Presidential Elections to be held on June 17.

The upcoming presidential election will have no bearing on the decision in this regard because such policies embody national interests.

"All the high-ranking officials have their input in these important decisions."
He said that Iran and EU are closer over the contents of an agreement, but they differ on the timing of implementation of the plan.

"The Europeans are interested in prolonging the negotiations and delay its execution."
Hence, for this reason the necessary decisions will be made during this week, Rowhani stated.

Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council said the recent talks between Iran and the three European states in London achieved good progress.

"The Europeans (Germany, Britain, and France) shared more similar views with Iran in this round of talks than the previous rounds in Paris and Geneva," Rowhani said.

He said Iran's proposal presented in the steering committee meeting in Paris on March 23 and recent talks in Geneva was discussed.

The British government played down hopes of any major breakthrough at Friday's steering committee meeting, which is reviewing the ongoing EU talks to reach long-term arrangements on Iran's nuclear programme.

The Foreign Office described the meeting in London between official from the so-called EU3 of France, German and the UK and Iran, as "informal." It is "more of a stocking taking exercise basically," a spokesman told IRNA.

The spokesman said that the steering committee meeting, which meets every three months to discuss progress made in working group negotiations held in Geneva, was "not brought forward."
"It was just an intermediate meeting with the next formal one planned for June," he said, adding that it would not disrupt the three-monthly pattern, with the last one held in Paris in March.

The meeting on Friday evening, which was understood to have been agreed in Paris six weeks ago at Iran's request, was shrouded in secrecy, with the press being kept away.

The Foreign Office spokesman also played down the warning issued by Iran's National Security Council Secretary Hassan Rowhani last week in an interview with the Financial Times that negotiations could end if there was no "tangible progress" at the London meeting.

The official said that he was "not sure" what the EU response would be to Iranian proposals put on the table to offer assurances about its nuclear programme.

He said that he did not know but expected the proposals to be "still on the table and still talk about it" after the meeting. "It is not about setting any deadline or anything like that," he insisted.

The EU has been pressing for a complete suspension of Iran's uranium enrichment program. "The key point is objective guarantees.

What we need is an objective guarantee that gives the same degree of surety," the Foreign Office spokesman said.

In his interview with the Financial Times last Week, Rowhani called on Britain, France and Germany to stand up to US pressure to prevent a collapse in the negotiations, warning that it would represent a "great failure for Europe."
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