Iran dismisses Saudi FM’s remarks on nuclear talks as ‘surprising’

TEHRAN, June 28 (MNA) – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast on Wednesday dismissed as “surprising” the recent remarks by Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal about Iran’s nuclear program. The Saudi Arabian foreign minister, during a speech at a joint ministerial meeting between the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council and the European Union in Luxemburg on Monday, said that negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program is a “waste of time” and it should be pushed forward towards time-limited talks, Al Arabiya reported. Tehran and the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) held a new round of talks in Moscow on June 18 and 19 and agreed to hold expert meetings in Istanbul on July 3. Mehmanparast said, “The nuclear policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the related negotiations are being pursued transparently and seriously with the aim of defending our country’s nuclear rights.” Elsewhere in his remarks, Mehmanparast commented on Faisal’s claims that Iran is interfering in the internal affairs of regional countries and said, “The issue is being raised while (Saudi) military forces, by trampling all international regulations and conventions underfoot, have interfered in the internal affairs of their neighboring country and are suppressing defenseless civilians.” The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman was referring to the fact that Saudi Arabia has dispatched troops to Bahrain to help quell the popular uprising in the country.