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Iran says not to hesitate to hold up nuclear rights in face of pressures

02 July 2012 23:16 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said Monday that the Islamic republic will not hesitate to defend its nuclear rights in the face of Western pressures, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Salehi’s remarks came a day after the European Union (EU) started to practice embargo on the Islamic republic’s oil exports to Europe.

The remarks of Iranian foreign minister is also significant in that Iran and the P5+1 (five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) will meet over the country’s controversial nuclear program on Tuesday in Turkey’s Istanbul.

Iran, following three rounds of negotiations over its uranium enrichment program since mid-April, has agreed to meet again with the P5+1, in Istanbul at the expert level.

"The other party has no other alternative but mutual understanding. The next choice is confrontation and I don’t think any common sense is seeking confrontation after the regional developments," Salehi told ISNA on Monday.

"There is no solution but diplomatic and political settlement of Iranian nuclear issue. The issue may have come with ups and downs, but overall I believe that we are moving towards fixing the issue and the other side has no way but to follow mutual understanding with Iran," Salehi said, adding that the country seeks win-win approach in nuclear talks and would never hesitate to defend its rights and sovereignty.

Iran insists on the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities, which the Western countries doubt are being used to produce nuclear weapons.

Also, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, said that the United States and the EU have threatened the energy security and balance of the world energy markets by imposing the new sanctions on the Islamic republic’s economy, the Iranian foreign ministry website reported Monday.

The West should be accountable for the negative effects of the sanctions on the world economy resulting from their "irresponsible " measures, he was quoted as saying.

Mehmanparast said that the unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States and the EU lacks "legitimacy and contradicts international regulations, including free trade principles."

"The U.S. and EU should expect rising problems (in their states) such as intensified financial and economic problems, as well as further social protests. These are in addition to political and diplomatic consequences of the sanctions," he added.

By imposing sanctions, the West showed that they do not pursue constructive approach vis-a-vis Iran, Mehmanparast said, adding that their unconstructive approach came at a time as, during the recent talks between Iran and the P5+1, the two sides emphasized building mutual trust.

People of Iran do not bow to pressures since the sanctions have even made Iranians more united and determined to maintain self- sufficiency, he said.

On Monday, an Iranian lawmaker said that the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Iran’s Majlis (parliament) has prepared a bill which calls for the closure of Hormuz Strait in the Persian Gulf in response to the recent EU oil embargo on Iran, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Ebrahim Agha-Mohammadi said that the commission has prepared a bill which calls on the government to block the Strait to the oil tankers which will ship the crude to the countries which have joined the oil sanctions against the Islamic republic.

The bill has been prepared in response to the EU oil sanctions, Agha-Mohammadi was quoted as saying. He said that the bill has been signed by 100 out of 290 members of the Iranian parliament as of Sunday, and the bill will be "soon" presented in the open session of the Majlis.

Some Iranian government and military officials already threatened to use all levers, particularly the Strait of Hormuz, if increased Western sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear activities halt Iran’s exports and hurts the interests of the Islamic republic.

In January, the EU foreign ministers approved the new sanctions against Tehran, which prevents its member states from buying Iranian crude. The sanctions went into effect on Sunday.

Washington imposed a new round of sanctions of its own last Thursday, targeting financial institutions of any country that buys Iranian oil. However, it has exempted 20 economies from the sanctions for a period of 180 days.