Iran’s supreme leader says his country will not give up elements of national power.
Tehran:
On Thursday, Iran said the United States had made additional demands and accused it of working to “complicate” efforts to restore the 2015 nuclear deal, after Russia’s new demands involvement in the Ukraine war raised fears of new delays.
Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in major state policies, stressed his country would not give up elements of “national strength”. such as nuclear progress and regional influence.
Tehran, locked in talks with world powers to restore the nuclear deal, has offered it relief from sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
The archenemy the United States, under former president Donald Trump, unilaterally withdrew from the accord officially known as the Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018.
“There is no reasonable justification for some of the new US demands and it contradicts the country’s position on reaching an agreement quickly,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in a briefing. telephone conversation with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. , his ministry reported.
Amir-Abdollahian did not specify the requirements, but said “the US cannot convey a new and different message to us every day through the coordinator”, referring to the EU.
Earlier, on Thursday, Iran’s top security official, Ali Shamkhani, tweeted that “The negotiations in Vienna are getting more complicated every hour without a political decision by the US.”
He added: “The US approach to Iran’s principled demands, coupled with its irrational offers and unwarranted pressure to rush to a deal, shows that the US is not interested in a strong deal that can satisfy both sides.”
– Russian element –
The United States reaffirmed its position that an agreement remains close and may even be reached “in the coming days.”
State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a press conference on Thursday, without mentioning any new requests from Washington.
“But the reason these particular problems stand out is because they’re some of the hardest.”
Moscow has said it wants written assurances from Washington that sanctions imposed on it over the Ukraine war will not affect its economic and military cooperation with Tehran.
Negotiations to restore the deal involved Iran directly as well as France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China, and indirectly the United States.
Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from the accord and its re-imposition of economic sanctions caused Iran to begin returning to its own commitments.
The United States has described the new Russian demands as “irrelevant”, while France has warned that it could dash hopes of a revived nuclear accord.
Russia’s chief negotiator, Mikhayil Ulyanov, said: “Some people are trying to blame us for prolonging the negotiations. I must tell you that the negotiations are not yet completed, not even the text of the negotiations. a final agreement has yet to be finalized.”
“Like any other participant, we have the right to ask for something… It’s business as usual,” he added.
– ‘National strength‘-
“We have called on all parties – and of course the Russian Federation – to focus on resolving the last remaining issues so that we can achieve our common goal of a permanent Iran. and verifiably prohibited from obtaining nuclear,” Price told reporters.
He said the Biden administration has made it clear that it “has no intention of providing Russia with anything new or specific as it relates to sanctions nor has anything new needed to achieve it.” successfully reached an agreement on full compliance by both parties.”
The July 2015 deal gave Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for limiting its nuclear activities to ensure it could not develop a weapons capability – an ambition the country wants to achieve. vehemently denied.
Western countries have also expressed concern about Iran’s other capabilities, including its ballistic missile program, regional influence and ties to armed groups from Lebanon to Yemen.
Iran’s supreme leader said on Thursday that issues of “national power” were not up for negotiation.
“Presence in the region gives us more strategic depth and national strength. Why should we give it up?” Khamenei asked, in a statement on his official website.
“Progress in nuclear science is also about meeting the needs of the country in the near future, and if we give it up, then from whom and where should we demand it in the next few years. ?”
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
