Iranian FM Calls For ‘New Approach’

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Iran’s foreign minister says Tehran and world powers must come up with a new approach in their negotiations over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

In an interview broadcast on CNN on October 6, Javad Zarif said there is a need to put an end to what he termed a “lose-lose situation.” Zarif described meetings with his Western counterparts as a “good beginning,” but called on U.S. President Barack Obama to deal with Iran “on the basis of mutual respect.”

President Hassan Rohani’s election in June and Zarif’s appointment as foreign minister and chief nuclear negotiator have raised hopes for a solution to the decade-old dispute over Iran’s nuclear program and whether the country is pursuing nuclear weapons.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said there is a “new tone” in Tehran, but added that there is limited time to resolve the dispute.

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The Iranian Foreign Minister says that previous proposals from the 5+1 to Iran “are history” and the group’s negotiators need to bring a new approach to the table.
 
In an interview on Iranian television on October 5th, Mohammad Javad Zarif said: “We are not prepared to negotiate for the sake of negotiation. Our negotiations must yield results.”
 
“It is vital to our national interests that the world becomes confident that Iran’s nuclear activities are peaceful,” Zarif said; “meanwhile, nuclear weapons are not beneficial for our country or for any other country.”
 
He added an assurance to the Iranian people that Iran’s right to uranium enrichment will not be open to negotiation during talks with the West.
 
Iran and the 5+1 delegation will meet in Geneva next week, on October 15 and 16, to start a new round of negotiations.

Based on a report by CNN, RFE/RL, Radio Zamaneh

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