Iran sets 5 conditions for resumption of nuclear talks
Iranian President Ahmadinejad has set five conditions for the resumption of nuclear talks with the West.
At a press conference in Tehran on Monday, Ahmadinejad said nuclear talks with the 5+1 group (five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) cannot begin until the major powers revise their stance toward Israel’s stockpile of nuclear weapons, agree to include other countries in the nuclear talks, and agree to changes to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Iran will delay negotiations with the 5+1 group until late August to punish the major powers that introduced a new sanctions resolution against Iran at the UN Security Council immediately after Iran signed a nuclear fuel swap deal with Turkey and Brazil.
“Those who want to negotiate with Iran must unequivocally announce their position about the Zionist regime’s nuclear weapons, and say whether they agree with (the situation) or not,” the president noted.
He added that the makeup of the negotiating team should be revised.
“Who has said that only the 5+1 must negotiate? There are others who must be present at the talks,” he stated.
The major powers should also announce if they are ready to accept changes to the NPT or not, he said.
After all the negotiations about a nuclear fuel swap, the 5+1 group did something “unethical” when its members called on the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on Iran, so “now we believe that the conditions have changed” for dialogue, he stated.
Iran will delay the talks to punish the 5+1 group and to “discipline” them in order to teach them the “norms of dialogue with the Iranian nation,” he added.
The West’s intentions in their calls for dialogue with Iran must be clear, he said, asking, “Do they seek friendship or animosity?”
They must clearly declare that they will follow a logical pattern in negotiations, and the talks must be based on common concerns and the nuclear package previously presented by Iran, the president said.
“Today the most foolish act is to stockpile nuclear weapons. They want to make Iran their accomplice, but Iran will not become their accomplice” and will continue to call for total nuclear disarmament, he added.
He said that no one will ever be able to use nuclear weapons again, but the control and stockpiling of such weapons is a worrisome issue, and Iranians are worried about the people of the United States.
A referendum should be held to see whether U.S. citizens are happy about the fact that thousands of atomic bombs are stockpiled in their country, the president noted.
He went on to say that referendums should also be held in other countries to see if their citizens want U.S. military bases and bombs in their countries.
Ahmadinejad said that the Tehran declaration of May 17 was Iran’s response to the calls of the U.S. Congress to put additional sanctions on Iran.
Addressing the U.S., Ahmadinejad stated, “Is it possible for you to impose sanctions on Iran, which has the world’s second largest reserves of oil and gas and is able to increase its petrol production to 20 to 30 million liters per week?”
In the past, the Zionist regime was planning to attack Syria and Lebanon, but the news leaked out and the Israelis learned that these two countries were well prepared to deal with attacks and that they would be defeated, the Iranian president noted.
Thus, Israel is now planning to attack Gaza and put pressure on Gaza, he added.
Source: tehrantimes.com
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