Iran will never give up peaceful nuclear rights: Rouhani

22 September 2014 | 21:07 Code : 1938693 Latest Headlines

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says the Islamic Republic will never give up its right to peaceful use of nuclear energy, vowing to continue the nuclear path for the country’s development.

“In the fields of development and access to peaceful nuclear technology, we have inalienable rights which are pivotal to the country’s development goals. We will not abandon them and will continue the [nuclear] path,” Rouhani told reporters on Monday ahead of his departure for New York City to attend the 69th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly.

He added that Iran has never sought to develop weapons of mass destruction and nuclear arms.

“In the negotiations, the P5+1 asks us to show more transparency within the framework of international regulations and build mutual confidence and respect which are acceptable, but if the P5+1 calls on us to give up our absolute rights, it is not possible…,” the Iranian president pointed out.

He warned that the nuclear negotiations will definitely lead to a lose-lose game if the six countries do not respect Iran’s rights, saying such a result would be detrimental to all sides.

Iran and the P5+1 group of countries – Russia, China, the United States, Britain, and France plus Germany – resumed the seventh round of their negotiations on the Iranian nuclear energy program in New York on Friday to reach a final agreement aimed at resolving the standoff over Tehran’s civilian nuclear work.

Earlier on Saturday, senior Iranian nuclear negotiator, Seyyed Abbas Araqchi, said “a very good atmosphere prevails” in the ongoing nuclear talks between Tehran and the P5+1 group.

Last November, Iran and the six powers signed an interim deal in Geneva, which took effect on January 20 and expired six months later. In July, the two sides agreed to extend negotiations until November 24 this year after they failed to reach common ground on a number of key issues.