Iran calls for fairness from Western powers

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani addresses the 68th United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on September 24, 2013. File picture: Ray Stubblebine

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani addresses the 68th United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on September 24, 2013. File picture: Ray Stubblebine

Published Feb 11, 2014

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Tehran - Iran's president on Tuesday called on world powers to match Tehran's “fair and constructive attitude” in nuclear negotiations and said the West should not have “delusions” about a military option.

Iran is due to resume talks next week in Vienna with the P5+1 - Britain, France, the United States, Russia and China plus Germany - aimed at reaching a comprehensive accord following a landmark interim agreement struck in November.

“Iran is committed to a fair and constructive negotiations within the framework of international regulations; we hope to witness such a willingness in the other party in the upcoming talks,” President Hassan Rouhani said in comments marking the 35th anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

“I say explicitly, if some have delusions of having any threats against Iran on their tables, they need to wear new glasses. There is no military option against Iran on any table in the world,” he added.

Neither the United States nor Israel has ruled out military action to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, while Tehran has long insisted its nuclear ambitions are entirely peaceful.

The anniversary of the uprising, which ousted the US-backed shah and plunged relations between the two countries into crisis, comes as Rouhani, a moderate elected last year, seeks to engage with the West diplomatically.

Under the November accord, Tehran agreed to curb some of its nuclear activities for six months in exchange for limited relief from international sanctions.

The agreement is intended to buy time for the negotiation of a final accord that would allay Western fears about Tehran's nuclear ambitions while lifting the crippling sanctions on Iran's oil and banking sectors. - Reuters

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