Eurasia Press & News
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini said the US has not yet announced the exact date for a meeting between the five Iranian diplomats kidnapped by the US troops in Iraq and their family members. Meantime, Hosseini expressed the hope that the meeting would take place in the near future, adding that Tehran is pursuing the issue through the Red Cross (RC).
In response to questions about the next round of talks between Iran and the US over Iraq, he told reporters that Iraqi officials are now contacting the two sides to set a proper date for the next meeting, and reminded that the talks would continue at the ambassadorial level, similar to the previous meetings.
“There is yet no intention to promote the level of talks,” the spokesman added.
Also asked to comment on the recent statements made by the Expediency Council chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani about Iran’s preparedness to enhance the level of talks with the US, Hosseini said, “He first spoke of some preliminary steps, which must be taken.”
“He subjected the proposal to a series of conditions,” he continued.
Regarding the US efforts to convince the UN Security Council to start a new set of sanctions against Iran despite the recent agreement between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Hosseini said, “Americans have adopted an illogical and non-technical approach towards the issue since the beginning and unfortunately, they are still continuing the same approach and trend.”
“This is while a large number of those following talks between Iran and the IAEA have voiced satisfaction from the talks and the results (of these talks) and viewed the said results as useful for the eventual trend of nuclear talks,” he underlined.
The diplomat further hoped that the American side would pick up a logical and pragmatic trend and approach towards Iran’s nuclear issue based on the existing realities.
