Eurasia Press & News
Iran on Sunday dismissed all plans for the settlement of its nuclear standoff with the West which call for the suspension of its uranium enrichment activities. “Any plan which includes suspension is not acceptable,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters during his weekly press conference here today.
He further pointed to the deadline specified in the UN Security Council Resolution 1747 for the stop of enrichment activities by Tehran, and said, “We strive to prevent issuance of any other resolutions, but if the other side continues this method, it will certainly complicate the situation.”
The spokesman further described continued talks as the rational way for solving the country’s nuclear issue.
Asked to comment on recent reports suggesting that the West would concede establishment of a consortium for enriching uranium on Iran’s soil on the condition that Tehran suspends its enrichment activities first, Hosseini dismissed such proposals, saying that preconditions in whatever form are not acceptable to Iran.
“The issue has been raised through the media. Preconditions are not acceptable to us, none whatsoever,” he stressed.
Elsewhere, the diplomat responded to questions about the meeting between family members and the five Iranian diplomats kidnapped during a raid by the US troops on Iran’s consulate general in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil months ago, and said, “Americans have not specified a date for the meeting yet.”
In another part of the conference, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman denied the US allegations about Iran’s cooperation with the US in the arrest and handover of Abdul-Hadi al-Araghi, an al-Qaeda liaison, describing the claim as a “mere lie”.
Also asked to comment on the summoning of the Yemeni ambassador to Tehran by Sana’a, the spokesman expressed regret over the measure, and said, “It is of much surprise and regret to witness that Yemen links its domestic affairs with the Islamic Republic.”
