SNSC Secretary Calls on West to Use Opportunity to Interact with Iran

“If the unsubstantiated excuses of the other side are to continue and the enmity towards the Iranian nation are to persist, the window of interaction and cooperation will not stay open forever,” Ali Shamkhani said in a cultural ceremony in the southwestern city of Ahvaz on Thursday.

He also cautioned the western countries against being affected by the “anti-stability lobbies”, and underlined that different voices and uncertainty shown by the other side is the main obstacle that could disable the West to make an appropriate response to Iran’s goodwill.

In relevant remarks earlier in the day, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also called on the negotiating sides to use the historic opportunity to gain the Iranian people’s trust and avoid statements that have no use for them or the negotiations.

He reiterated that the US actions had not been helpful in trust-building among negotiating parties and have rather deepened distrust.

Zarif further noted that the statements made in the past two months, especially by the US officials, did not help in building trust.

His remarks came in reaction to senior US administration officials’ remarks, including Secretary of State John Kerry, who insisted in recent months that the military option against Tehran is still on the table.

This comes after Iran and the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, France, Britain and China plus Germany) wrapped up three days of talks in Austria’s Vienna on Thursday.

The two sides’ negotiating teams discussed the priorities for the future negotiations and working out a framework for an ultimate and comprehensive agreement on Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.

It was the first round of high-level negotiations since a November interim deal, clinched between Iran and the G5+1.

The next round of negotiations between Iran and the G5+1 (also known as P5+1 or E3+3) will be held from March 17 to 20 in Vienna.