Iran calls for fresh proposals for arms talks in Geneva

Iran said on Sunday that world leaders should think about new proposals for the upcoming nuclear talks in Geneva, ISNA News Agency reported.

Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif said "The previous proposals by the P5+1 belong to history and they should attend the upcoming talks with new proposals".

The P5+1 - Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States plus Germany - and Iran met two times in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in February and April. Their talks ended without tangible results.

The powers asked Iran to suspend its high-grade uranium enrichment and close down the underground bunker of Fordow where Iran enriches uranium to 20 percent.

In return, they offered to relieve some of the sanctions on Iran's petrochemical industry and its trade in precious metals. However, Iran did not accept the proposal, urging the powers to completely lift the sanctions.

The foreign ministers of the P5+1 and Iran met in New York last month and agreed to resume negotiations on Iran's nuclear standoff in Geneva on Oct 15-16.

Iran insists on nuclear enrichment as its "right for peaceful nuclear activities". The West suspects the Iranian nuclear enrichment program may be used to develop weapon-grade activities.

Zarif reiterated the country's earlier position, saying Iran is ready to alleviate the concerns of the world community by working with a nuclear watchdog in a transparent manner.

However, Iran should receive a "deserving response" from world powers to build confidence, said the minister, adding that Iran's ultimate goal for the nuclear talks is the recognition of its "peaceful nuclear activities, including uranium enrichment on (its) soil".

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday urged Iran to come up with new nuclear proposals, rebuffing Teheran's position that the onus is now on foreign powers to end the impasse.

Kerry, while welcoming recent overtures including a historic contact between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and US President Barack Obama, said the ball remains in Iran's court.

"The group of six put a proposal on the table at Almaty and I don't believe as of yet Iran has fully responded to that particular proposal. So I think we are waiting the fullness of the Iranian difference in their approach now," he told reporters in Indonesia.

"So what we need are a set of proposals from Iran that will fully disclose how they will show the world that their program is peaceful."

On Sunday, Chairman of Iran's Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said, "The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready for negotiations and talks with representatives of the P5+1 countries on the nuclear issue based on mutual respect and on an equal footing."

Xinhua-AFP

(China Daily 10/08/2013 page12)