TEHRAN – Days after the United States opened the possibility of talks with Iran over its nuclear program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad indicated Saturday that he was looking for a “breakthrough” in negotiations, but only if the talks were unconditional.
Ahmadinejad’s statement came as a top deputy at Iran’s Supreme Security Council outlined in an interview the reasons that Iran wants a nuclear energy program and is looking for compromise with Western powers intent on hindering the effort.
Both men’s remarks appeared to be part of an orchestrated effort by Iranian officials to keep open the possibility of talks with the United States. Ahmadinejad comments were made on state-run television and reportedly in a phone conversation with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
In his television speech, Ahmadinejad reiterated that he is unprepared to abandon the nuclear program to begin the talks.
“We are after negotiations, but fair and just negotiations. They must be without any conditions,” he said.
The United States has offered to join the direct talks only if Iran suspends its nuclear activity. Iran insists it is pursuing peaceful objectives; Western powers suspect Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons
Javad Vaeidi, a top deputy at Iran’s Supreme Security Council, spoke emphatically during an interview Saturday about Iran’s interest in peaceful energy. As Ahmadinejad did, Vaeidi said Iran wants to preserve its right to develop nuclear energy.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki also told reporters Saturday that European Union foreign-policy chief Javier Solana would deliver in the next few days a package of proposals designed to win Iranian cooperation.
The five members of the UN Security Council and Germany came up with the package Thursday. It includes incentives and possible punishments if Iran refuses.
“We will make our views known after studying the package,” Mottaki said. He ruled out talks if conditions were attached.
Vaeidi, when asked about the U.S. demand to halt nuclear activity so talks could begin, said that such a requirement is seen as a “humiliation” because Iran has the right under current treaties to a nuclear program.
He skirted direct questions about whether a delay – a suspension for a guaranteed time – could be worked out. Vaeidi was interviewed at the Supreme Security Council offices in Tehran.
Vaeidi, the deputy chief of international affairs, was most clear when responding to questions about Iran’s nuclear ambitions. He said Iran does not want to be a nuclear power for warlike purposes. Nuclear energy has become a global business, he said, and Iran wants to preserve its interests.
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Vaeidi said Iran is suspicious of Western offers to help its nuclear efforts. In the next century, as global oil supplies decline, all countries will be pursuing other energy sources, he said. Iran wants to develop nuclear fuel for internal purposes.
“They want to prevent us developing a nuclear industrial program in Iran but they are willing to sell us this product,” he said about a previous debate over whether Iran could buy enriched uranium from the West for use in plants designed for peaceful use. “It’s business . . . Do they think we are fools?
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“We do not need a bomb,” Vaeidi said. “We are a regional power now. We have security without a bomb . . . The bomb would cause us to lose our power because other countries in the region would then pursue it. That would be against our interests and our security. We’re just being realistic about this.”
Vaeidi also said that achieving a nuclear bomb would not be in Iran’s interest for other reasons: Iran wants stability and to attract investors. And pursuing nuclear weapons would only legitimize Israel’s existing nuclear program.
“It would also mean the United States would increase its military presence and influence in the region,” he said.
“Iran is looking for compromise and we are trying to restart talks. This is the reality,” Vaiedi said. “We’re not after confrontation. We’re not after adventure. We’re not after conflict.”
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In a major policy shift, the United States agreed this week to join France, Britain and Germany in talks with Iran if Tehran agreed to suspend all suspect nuclear activities. It would be the first public negotiations between Washington and Tehran in 27 years.
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