Iran advises 5+1 group not to enter talks with misconceptions

TEHRAN, May 30 (MNA) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast advised the six major powers to put aside their misconceptions before engaging in talks with Iran. Mehmanparast made the remarks during his regular press briefing in Tehran on Tuesday in reply to a question about the fact that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on May 24 that Washington would not ease sanctions on Iran before the next round of talks between Tehran and the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany), which is scheduled to be held in Moscow on June 18 and 19. “As Mr. Jalili announced at his press conference in Baghdad (on May 24), the pressure-and-dialogue approach is a wrong approach and has not produced and will not produce results. It would be better if they do not enter the negotiations with false presumptions. We have always made efforts to turn pressures into opportunities. If they make mistakes again, they will achieve their desired result later. They deal with issues with false presumptions, and this is why they do not make headway.” Jalili, who is the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, led the Iranian delegation in the negotiations between Tehran and the six major powers, which were held in Baghdad on May 23 and 24. “It will be regarded as a positive step if the 5+1 countries drop their illogical preconditions,” Mehmanparast said. He added, “Now that the path for constructive negotiations is being followed, we hope that we will bring our views closer together in the next meetings in Moscow or possibly in additional talks.” Iran has the right to every peaceful activity Asked if Iran would stop producing uranium enriched to a purity level of 20 percent, Mehmanparast said, “We believe that we have the right to every peaceful activity, and our rights must be recognized.” “We will not relinquish our rights,” he added. Zionist regime behind insecurity in Syria In reply to a question about the situation in Syria, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said, “We clearly feel that the hands of the Zionist regime are behind insecurity in Syria.” “The only entity that benefits from insecurity in Syria is the Zionist regime, and the regime’s agents are behind every crime committed in Syria,” he added. Mehmanparast also said, “Whenever Mr. (Kofi) Annan’s plan gets closer to achieving its purposes, certain political movements make efforts to scuttle the plan through terrorist actions.” Annan, the UN-Arab League joint special envoy on Syria, has put forward a six-point peace plan for ending the crisis in Syria, which calls for a UN-supervised ceasefire by all parties, the withdrawal of soldiers and heavy weapons from cities, and the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Iran hopes root of computer viruses will dry up Mehmanparast was also asked to comment on a Reuters story published on Monday that said security experts had discovered a new data-stealing spyware virus dubbed Flame that they say had lurked inside thousands of computers across the Middle East for as long as five years as part of a sophisticated cyber warfare campaign. He said, “Certain illegitimate regimes are in the habit of spreading viruses to harm others. We hope that the root of viruses will dry up.” Presidential election was a success for Egypt On the first round of the Egyptian presidential election, which was held on May 23 and 24, Mehmanparast stated, “The holding of the presidential election in Egypt and public participation was a success for the country.” “Islamist movements in Egypt proved that they enjoy great popularity,” he added. Mohamed Morsi, the chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, and Ahmed Shafiq, who formerly served as Egypt’s prime minister, will contest a run-off election on June 16 and 17.