Lawmaker Calls Change of Attitude "Iran's Prerequisite for Talks with 5+1"

TEHRAN (FNA)- A prominent Iranian lawmaker cautioned that the western powers should change their attitude towards Tehran if they are inclined to continue negotiations with the Islamic Republic.
"Iran will only hold talks with the US provided that Washington respects Iran's rights and stops its (deliberate) efforts to impede the Islamic Republic's nuclear program," member of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mohammad Karami-Rad said.

Reiterating Iran's emphasis on its stance in future talks with the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) the Iranian legislator blasted the unfounded claims recently made by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) against Tehran's civilian nuclear program, and stressed that accusations of Iran's secret efforts to pursue a military diversion is merely based on fictitious documents provided by a notorious Iranian terrorist group.

When the IAEA formally makes accusations against Iran based on such unreliable reporting, then it means that the agency has turned into "a Zionist lobby," he cautioned.

In his latest confidential nine-page report, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano claimed last Tuesday that the agency has received new unspecific information indicating that Iran may not be merely developing nuclear energy for civilian purposes.

The report again repeated what it commonly refers to as an overall assessment, claiming that the UN nuclear body cannot maintain that all nuclear items of Iran are peaceful.

The report was circulated to IAEA member states ahead of a meeting of the Board of Governors next month.