Velayati says U.S. should not think dialogue is an advantage to Iran

Young journalists club

News ID: 6409
Publish Date: 22:43 - 22 February 2015
TEHRAN - Ali Akbar Velayati, director of the Strategic Research Center at the Expediency Council, has said that the U.S. should not think that negotiation is an “advantage” it gives to Iran.
Velayati who was speaking to reporters after a meeting with Nicholas Haysom, the UN special representative in Afghanistan, on Sunday, also said Iran will not relinquish its right to nuclear technology for civilian uses.

The remarks by Velayati came as Iran and the U.S. started a new round of talks in Geneva on Friday. 

Undoubtedly, Iran holds talks and has announced its readiness to hold negotiations from the beginning and has never avoided it, added Velayati who is also a senior foreign policy advisor to the Supreme Leader. 

Velayati stated that "Iran will not bow to pressure” and holds talks within the framework set by the Leader.

Iran and the major powers (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) seek to agree on a political framework by the end of March and a final nuclear deal by the end of June.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told a press conference at the U.S. Embassy in London on Saturday that "there are still significant gaps, there is still a distance to travel.”

He also said, "President Obama has no inclination whatsoever to extend these talks beyond the period that has been set out.” 

------‘Iran backs efforts to foster unity in Afghanistan’

In his meeting with Haysom, Velayati also said that Iran backs efforts to foster national unity in Afghanistan.

Iran has received millions of Afghan immigrants over the past 40 years and they have been well behaved by the Iranian government and people, he added.

Velayati went on to say that problems in Afghanistan should be resolved by the people of the country without any foreign intervention.

He also said that all the countries that share borders with Afghanistan, specifically Pakistan, are ready to help solve the country’s problems. 

Haysom praised Iran’s effective role in resolving issues in Afghanistan.

He also stated that from the UN’s viewpoint Iran and Afghanistan have "positive” political, cultural and economic relations.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he stated that Iran has taken "valuable” steps in the areas of accepting immigrants and fighting against trafficking of narcotics.

Tehran Times

Tags
Your Comment