Tehran will not relinquish its nuclear rights: Iranian negotiator

TEHRAN,April 22(MNA) – An Iranian nuclear negotiator said that the Islamic Republic will not relinquish its rightful nuclear activities including uranium enrichment under the provisions of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Abbas Araqchi, the deputy foreign minister, made the remarks in a briefing to foreign diplomats based in Tehran on Sunday on the latest round of nuclear talks with world powers. Two days of nuclear talks between Iran and the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) in the Kazakh city of Almaty on April 5 and 6 failed to produce a breakthrough. Iran has proposed a pragmatic and applicable framework to the powers that if they agree, the issues concerning Tehran’s nuclear activities will be settled in a step by step process, Araqchi noted. Referring to the Iranian presidential election slated for June 14, he said the internal political developments will not influence the process of nuclear negotiations.