US Blamed for Fruitless Iran-Sextet Nuclear Talks
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An Iranian top nuclear negotiator pointed the finger of blame for lack of progress in the latest round of nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers at the US, saying the Americans have been pushing to raise discussions on Iran’s missile capabilities.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi attended a meeting with members of the parliament's national security and foreign policy commission to brief them on the latest round of nuclear talks between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
The negotiations, which were held in Vienna from May 14 to 16 with the aim of drafting the text of an ultimate accord on Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, came to an end without any tangible results.
Diplomats from both sides made clear the talks were an uphill struggle, saying positions remain far apart on several issue.
Meanwhile, Araqchi has in his latest comments blamed the US negotiating team for obstructing the Vienna talks.
In an interview with the Tasnim News Agency, Ebrahim Aqamohammadi, a member of the influential parliamentary commission, quoted Araqchi as saying in the briefing that one of the main reasons behind futility of the latest round of nuclear negotiations was “US insistence on discussing Iran’s long-range missiles.”
However, the Iranian negotiating team adamantly refused to discuss the country’s missile capabilities in the course of nuclear talks and will not give in to demands by the Americans in the future talks either, Araqchi was quoted as saying.
On May 16, the US delegation had made clear that it wanted to discuss both Iran's ballistic missile program and possible military dimensions of its past nuclear research.
But Reuters quoted an Iranian official present in the talks as saying that the Iranian foreign minister and lead negotiator, Mohammad Javad Zarif, merely laughed and ignored the remarks.
Tehran has repeatedly announced the issue of its defensive capabilities will by no means be mooted in the nuclear negotiations.
“I assure you that the Islamic Republic’s defense and our defensive capabilities will not be the subject of negotiations,” Zarif said before leaving for Austria last week.
