Iran offers G8 new issues to debate
Tehran restates plan to present points for discussion at nuclear talks with West.
Mottaki said that the package, which was originally announced on April 15, would “contain Iran’s stances on political, security and international issues”.
“The package can be a good basis for talks with the West,” he said.
The latest “package” is expected to be a new version of a May 2008 list of discussion points presented by Tehran that proposed that consortiums could be established to enable certain nations – including Iran – to enrich uranium and manufacture nuclear fuel.
Stalled talks
Talks between Iran and the so-caled P5-plus-1 group have been stalled since September.
Western nations have demanded that Iran halt the enrichment of uranium, which they argue could be used to produce fuel for a nuclear reactor or a warhead for an atomic weapon.
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“…my hope is that the Iranian leadership will look at the statement coming out of the G8 and recognise that world opinion is clear” Barack Obama, |
Tehran has repeatedly denied that its nuclear programme is aimed at producing nuclear arms, but insists that it has the right to develop its own nuclear technology to meet its civilian energy needs.
A joint declaration by the G8 nations called for a negotiated resolution to the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
“That’s been always our premise, is that we provide that door,” Barack Obama, the US president, said on Friday.
“But we also say we’re not going to just wait indefinitely and allow for the development of the nuclear weapon, the breach of international treaties, and wake up one day and find ourselves in a much worse situation and unable to act.
“So my hope is that the Iranian leadership will look at the statement coming out of the G8 and recognise that world opinion is clear.”
The US, Russia, China, and European Union nations have offered a package of economic and other incentives to Iran if it will stop enriching uranium, but Tehran has previously rejected the offer.