Tehran, YJC. Araqchi has said that negotiations are tough and Iran must see its demands granted before there can be any agreement on its nuclear program.
"Lots of friends thing that maybe the talks reach the final
stage during the New York trip. But it is impossible even in physical and
operational terms,” asserted Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in an
interview on TV on Monday.
We were to reach the final agreement by the end of the
6-month Geneva term, in which we failed. Although in the final days we did our
best for 18 days, we managed to extend the talks for 4 more months, he said.
Araqchi stated "Of course there are disagreements, some of
which are deep, yet there are solutions for the rest and we will continue our
efforts.”
He expressed hope that the negotiating sides could start a
new series of efforts to reach agreement starting September 18 during the UN
General Assembly in New York.
He also pointed to the bilateral talks with the 5+1
countries and said that by holding the bilateral talks, Iran would get ready
for talks with the 5+1.
"On September 17 the negotiations will begin with a working
lunch with Mrs. Ashton and Mr. Zarif. The following day talks with the 5+1 will
kick off,” he maintained.
We are not disappointed and we hope that by November 24 we
can walk the path and reach agreement, which is possible if our demands are
met.
He asserted "We should never imagine that our enrichment
program may be limited to a small, research scale or something symbolic and
decorative for that matter. The program is surely to be industrial.”
"We admit the fact
that the Arak heavy water raises concerns,” he stated, adding that although
heavy water facilities are in occasions used for the development of nuclear
weapons, Iran has no such intention.
Another important topic of the negotiations is how the
sanctions should be removed, which to us is the key point.
"According to the Geneva agreement, one of the axes of the final
agreement is that the sanctions have to be lifted entirely. If this does not
happen, there will naturally be no agreement,” he said.