Iran's nuclear rights only framework of talks with powers

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham described the country's right to use peaceful nuclear technology as the only possible framework for the negotiations between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany). "The Islamic Republic of Iran's redlines fall on the people's inalienable and evident rights to access peaceful nuclear technology and this redline has been under the focus and attention of the (Iranian) negotiating team since the very first day and we won't withdraw from this right," Afkham said in her weekly press conference in Tehran on Tuesday. She also said that the framework of negotiations is Iran's nuclear rights and maintaining the indigenized nuclear knowhow. On November 24, Iran and the Group 5+1 sealed a six-month Joint Plan of Action to lay the groundwork for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with Iran over the latter's nuclear energy program. In exchange for Tehran’s confidence-building bid to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, the Sextet of the world powers agreed to lift some of the existing sanctions against Tehran and impose no nuclear-related sanctions on Iran during the six-month period. In April, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for legal and international affairs Seyed Abbas Araqchi confirmed that Iran and the Group 5+1 plan to hold an expert-level meeting in New York early in May. Araqchi, who is also senior Iranian negotiator in talks with the Sextet, said negotiations will be held from May 5-9 on the sidelines of a session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2015 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference. The Iranian official said the talks will take place a few days ahead of the new round of high-level negotiations between Tehran and the six countries, which is scheduled to be held in the Austrian city of Vienna on May 13. Deputy chief negotiators from Iran and the six world powers wrapped up their last round of talks in Vienna on April 9. The talks were headed by Araqchi and EU foreign policy deputy chief Helga Schmidt. The Iranian Foreign Ministry in a statement on April 8 reiterated that its team of negotiators would not discuss any topic but the country's nuclear standoff with the West in its talks with the six world powers, including the present round in Vienna. The talks between Tehran and the six world powers are part of efforts to seal a final deal on Iran’s nuclear energy program.