EU will gradually accept Iran's right to nuclear fuel cycle: chief negotiator

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Hassan Rowhani said on Sunday that the European Union (EU) would gradually accept the Islamic Republic's right to get nuclear fuel cycle, the official IRNA news agency reported.

"Iran-EU negotiations have led to a turn from the crisis to an opportunity for cooperation??and the EU will gradually recognize Iranian right to possess fuel cycle plant," Rowhani, secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), was quoted as saying.

The negotiator made the comments in a report to outgoing President Mohammad Khatami about his performance as the chief negotiator with the EU over Iran's nuclear program.

He revealed that the bilateral negotiations with the European partners had led the EU to draft a proposal which secures Iran's integrity, independence and sovereignty as well as legal rights on peaceful nuclear technology.

According to the drafted proposal, the EU will undertake to support Iranian territorial integrity, independence and national sovereignty against any aggression, Rowhani said.

The EU will also support Iranian nuclear program and provides Iran with nuclear power plants as well as fuel under the guarantee of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the negotiator added.

Additionally, Rowhani said that the EU proposal would also include the promise of speeding up Iran's World Trade Organization membership talks and other economic and technological incentives.

However, Rowhani did not reveal when the EU would present its proposal to Iran.

Earlier in the day, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi threatened that Iran would resume the uranium conversion facility if the EU failed to present the proposal before Monday.

Meanwhile, Ali Aghamohammadi, chairman of the Information Committee of the SNSC, specified that the deadline was 5:00 p.m. local time (12:30 GMT) on Sunday, saying Iran would carry out the resume on Monday if the EU failed to present its proposal by the stated time.

In order to solve the Iranian nuclear issue, The EU promised to present a comprehensive proposal, including a package of economic and political incentives, in the latest round of nuclear negotiations.

Iran has urged the EU to secure its right to continue uranium enrichment in the proposal and to put forward the offer on time, but the EU apparently attempts to talks Iran out of its work to build nuclear fuel cycle and to delay the deadline until August 7.

Iran in last November suspended all of its activities related to uranium enrichment, a key step for fuel cycle construction.

The United States has accused Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons, a charge rejected by Tehran as politically motivated.

Source: Xinhua