Threatening Iran not helpful in nuclear talks: Iran’s UN ambassador

TEHRAN,March 4(MNA) – Threatening Iran will not help advance the nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers, Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Mohammad Khazaee said in an interview with CNN which was scheduled to be aired on Sunday, according to Bloomberg. Iran and the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) held a new round of talks over the country’s nuclear program in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Tuesday and Wednesday and agreed to hold further negotiations in Kazakhstan on April 5 and 6. “Threatening Iran is not going to work,” Khazaee said. While Iran would accept direct talks over its nuclear program with the U.S., any additional “pressure” to drive Iran to the negotiating table would backfire, Khazaee told CNN. “Iran welcomes negotiation and direct talks with the United States, provided that we make sure that the U.S. is serious and do not act differently,” Khazaee said. “My point is, as soon as you say, we are ready to talk to you and work with you, but at the same time, we punish you and put pressure on you and your people -- Iranians cannot accept that.” Khazaee repeated the Iranian view that the talks were a “turning point” with the six major powers. Western powers are seeking a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program, which they claim may have a secret military dimension, in return for a relaxation of some of the sanctions against the country. In Almaty, the major powers dropped their demand that Iran shut down its underground uranium-enrichment plant at Fordo, and insisted instead that Iran suspend enrichment work there and agree to unspecified conditions that would make it hard to quickly resume production. They also said that Iran could continue to produce and keep a small amount of its uranium enriched to a purity level of 20 percent for use in a research reactor that produces medical isotopes, according to the New York Times. If Tehran agreed to these steps, the major powers said they would suspend some sanctions against Iran, including trade in gold and petrochemicals, and would not impose new sanctions through the United Nations Security Council and the European Union. The main oil and financial sanctions that have caused Iran’s oil revenues to drop would not be loosened.