Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili advised the so-called P5+1 group (Consisting of the USA, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany) to seize the opportunity to reach an agreement on nuclear talks with Iran.
Jalili was talking to journalists after a dinner meeting with the EU foreign policy head Catherine Ashton on Wednesday, he recalled the 2010 Iran–Brazil-Turkey deal to swap Iranian uranium stockpiles as an opportunity that the west failed to seize.
“Tehran’s declaration was about the supplying of Tehran’s medical reactor with 20% uranium but instead of seizing the opportunity they [the west] issued resolution 1929 [against Iran]” Jalili said.
Iran signed a joint declaration with Turkey and Brazil on May 16, 2010 to ship 1,200kg of low enriched uranium to Turkey for a later exchange of 120kg of enriched isotope for its medical nuclear reactor in Tehran.
But within hours after the deal was announced by Brazilian and Turkish leaders the US rejected that and pushed ahead with sanctions.
After the swap deal failed, Iran which was in need of 20% enriched uranium for its medical reactor developed its nuclear program to produce 20% uranium itself.
“[After Tehran’s declaration failed] , Iran supplied itself with 20% enriched Uranium (According to the rights of NPT memebers) and [the P5+1] lost the opportunity opened up by the Tehran declaration. Then they [after three years] in Almaty-I asked to talk about 20% enrichment,” said Jalili in a press conference on Thursday morning.
“The Iranian nation [never] retreats from its rights. I hope this time they study our proposals in the Almaty-II talks to avoid later regrets,” he said as a warning that Iran would go further on its nuclear program if the west continues to ignore Iran’s proposals.
EU foreign policy head Catherine Ashton and Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili had a dinner meeting in Turkish city of Istanbul, on May 15. The meeting was a follow up to last round of talks between Iran and the P5+1 held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on April 5-6.
Speaking at a press conference after the Almaty talks, Jalili said that Iran provided a comprehensive operational plan to the P5+1 and it is now up to the group to decide on how to respond to the Iranian proposals.
