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Ahead of a planned nuclear meeting in Vienna, Iran slammed the West’s use of the language of “sanctions and threats” against its nuclear program.
“So far western powers have achieved nothing by resorting to the language of threats and sanctions against Iran. The West is aware that this language is obsolete and useless,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi told reporters Monday, Presstv reported.
“We have always announced that we support the negotiation track.”
Officials from Iran, the United States, Russia, France and the UN nuclear agency plan to hold talks in Vienna next week as Tehran weighs its options for supplying a research reactor in Tehran with uranium refined at 20 percent.
The talks come after Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili met diplomats from permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany on Oct 1 in Geneva and exchanged views on a wide range of global issues.
During the talks, hostile western powers that for long had singled out Iran for unrelenting condemnation for refusing to reverse its nuclear program and stop enriching uranium, had a change of heart. They backed down from their past demands to come to some sort of agreement with Tehran over the nuclear dispute.
Both sides described the meeting as “constructive” and agreed to meet again late in the month.
Warning to Clinton
During his weekly press briefing, Qashqavi referred to the threatening tone of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton regarding Iran’s nuclear activities.
“Comments that include any type of threats, deadlines and timetables will have no impact on the Islamic Republic,” he cautioned.
“Our commitment to international law and conventions is based on our legal vision,” he was quoted as saying.
The staunchly pro-Israel former first lady of America on Monday said “the world will not wait indefinitely’’ for Iran to cooperate on its nuclear issue. It was, however, not clear who had appointed her the spokeswoman of the world!
“The international community will not wait indefinitely for evidence that Iran is prepared to live up to its international obligations,” she said after a meeting with her British counterpart, David Miliband, in London.
Clinton and other US officials have not been clear about the kind of “actions” they expect from Iran.
Deadlines have been brought up by the US, demanding that Iran open its new Fordu nuclear enrichment facility to IAEA inspections by the end of the month.
The US talks about a deadline while Iran has already agreed to have the new site inspected by the UN nuclear inspectors and clarified that the issue has nothing to do with the Geneva talks.
Buying Pure Uranium
Asked about Iran’s interest in buying uranium refined at 20 percent from Russia and France, the spokesman said, “We have sent our request on the fuel to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).”
“The tripartite meeting will be held to discuss prices and delivery methods,” he tld the reporters.
Iran’s nuclear program has been under close scrutiny by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has confirmed its civilian nature. Iran is a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has called for eliminating weapons of mass destruction throughout the world.
Obama’s Peace Prize
Qashqavi said that the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to President Barack Obama when the US military budget has increased by $10 billion during his first year in office.
He said the prestigious prize was probably to encourage Obama to take bigger strides toward international peace and stability IRNA reported.
Tehran believes granting the Nobel prize to Obama was a hasty action, he said, adding that such awards should be given to people because of their achievements.
“Awarding Obama such a prize in only nine months since he started work as president was a bit too early,” Qashqavi concluded.
