Iran's senior cleric criticizes six-nation nuclear proposal

Iranian senior cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati on Friday expressed his flinty attitude toward the six-nation nuclear proposal, vowing that the Islamic Republic would not compromise on its nuclear right.

"The package offered (by west) is only good for them, not for us," Jannati, head of the powerful Guardian Council, a constitutional intercessory organ between the government and the Majlis (parliament), told worshippers at Friday prayers on the campus of the Tehran University.

"The Iranian nation and officials and supreme leader (Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei) and all those who have hands in administration of the country's affairs, will not accept Iran's withdrawal from its inalienable rights," the official IRNA news agency quoted Jannati as saying.

"We have to maintain uranium enrichment to the level of 3.5 to 5 percent, they have no choice but to accept it," said Jannati, adding that "the Iranian people will achieve the nuclear right, history showed we had achieved success whenever we resisted."

Meanwhile, Jannati stressed Iran was ready to hold talks on its nuclear issue, saying "nobody spares holding talks, if there are ambiguities, they can be resolved through dialogues."

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Tuesday presented Iran the six-nation proposal over Iran's disputed nuclear issue which had been agreed by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany in a meeting in Vienna.

The proposal includes both incentives aimed at persuading Iran to suspend uranium enrichment and possible sanctions if Iran chooses not to comply.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani had expressed cautious optimism over the new package after his meeting with Solana, saying"there were positive steps but also ambiguities", and he promised to give a formal response after "a carefully study on the package".

Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that his country was ready to discuss "mutual concerns" to end " misunderstandings" over the nuclear issue with the world.

But he added that "negotiations must take place in fair atmosphere and the Iranian nation will never allow the international community to use sticks to threat and negotiate at the same time."

The western countries should not think they have given Iran a big concession by offering the new incentives, warned the president, stressing that "it was Iran who gave them a concession by agreeing to talk to them."

Source: Xinhua