Foreign ministry spokesperson Marzieh Afkham said on Wednesday Iran has engaged in nuclear talks with the major powers with “good intention” to put an end to a “fabricated” crisis.
Afkham said, “Tehran entered the nuclear talks given the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities and with an approach which is based on having constructive interaction,” ISNA reported.
“Claims that the illegal and cruel sanctions have brought Iran to the negotiating table are being made with the aim of winning the support of the American public as well as political rivals inside the United States,” the spokesperson stated.
She went on to say that the foreign ministry believes it was the remarkable progress that Iran has made in various fields of science and technology, including its peaceful nuclear program, that compelled Washington to enter into the talks with Iran.
Afkham’s remarks were partly a response to the recent comments by US President Barack Obama, in which he questioned Iran’s willingness to end the standoff with the west and to prove the peaceful nature of its nuclear program.
During a press conference with Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday in Washington, Obama said, “We now know enough that the issues (nuclear talks) are no longer technical,” he said. “The issues now are: does Iran have the political will and the desire to get a deal done?” Reuters reported.
Political Will
Afkham reiterated that Tehran has proved its commitment to its international obligations based on various reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is tasked with verifying Iran’s compliance with an interim nuclear deal it signed with the major powers in November 2013.
Such reports can be seen as a clear indication of “a firm political will” on the part of Iran to strike a “good” agreement, she noted.
Obama in his remarks had said, “We’re at a point where they (Iran) need to make a decision.
“There should be the possibility of getting a deal. They should be able to get to ‘yes.’ But we don’t know if that’s going to happen. They have their hard-liners, they have their politics.”
Afkham rejected Obama’s remarks by saying, “It is now the US turn to set aside its excessive demands and overcome its own domestic challenges and political rivalries to pave the way for reaching a permanent settlement of Iran’s nuclear issue.”
