Rouhani: Iran Will Never Give Up Nuclear Technology Capabilities

(FNA)- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani described insistence on the country's national rights as the pivot of nuclear talks with the world powers, and said the country's negotiating team will certainly protect the scientific and technological achievements made by Iranian scientists in the field of nuclear energy.

"The world public opinion, analysts, friends and even foes don’t interpret the recent understanding (between Tehran and the Group 5+1) as a failure for the Islamic Republic," Rouhani said, addressing the first meeting of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution in the new Iranian year (which started on March 21) in Tehran on Wednesday.

Reiterating the need for safeguarding the country's nuclear-related scientific and technological capabilities in all fields, he said, "The negotiators have and will never forget the Iranian nation's rights and will continue this path mightily based on the guidelines of Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution (Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei) and within the framework of the major lines of policy."

In relevant remarks on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif underscored the necessity for the termination of all sanctions against Tehran under a possible final deal, but meantime, said the country was not ready to pay any price for it.

"We want the removal of sanctions, but its price and cost is also highly important to us. We will not accept to have the sanctions removed at the price of national honor and interests," Zarif said, addressing students at Kazakhstan's Law School.

He stressed Iran's willingness to develop relations with the western states, but meantime said the sanctions policy was an enemy of good relations. "... when the sanctions exist, we cannot have good ties with those countries which have imposed them."

Noting that the Iranian people were not optimistic about the relations with the West, he said the western states had created many problems for the Iranians and therefore, settlement of the country's problems with the West needed time.

Also last Thursday, Ayatollah Khamenei said that the underway talks between Tehran and the world powers were merely limited to the nuclear issue, and underlined that the sanctions against Iran should be annulled "on the same day (of the implementation) of any agreement" .

He specified conditions for a final nuclear deal with the world powers, and underlined that Iran doesn’t allow any inspection of its defensive and military centers.

"They (the foreigners) shouldn’t be allowed at all to penetrate into the country's security and defensive boundaries under the pretext of supervision, and the country's military officials are not permitted at all to allow the foreigners to cross these boundaries or stop the country's defensive development under the pretext of supervision and inspection," Ayatollah Khamenei said, addressing a large number of Iranian people in Tehran.

Elaborating on his position on the recent nuclear statement issued by Iran and the G5+1 in Lausanne, Switzerland, he said, "I am neither in favor nor against it since nothing has happened yet and no binding issue has occurred between the two sides."

Ayatollah Khamenei underscored that he would support a final deal which would guarantee the Iranian nation's honor and interests, and added, "I am not indifferent to the negotiations but I have not interfered in the details of the negotiations by now and will not interfere in the future either."

Ayatollah Khamenei stressed the necessity for continued progress in the country's nuclear Research and Development (R&D) and development of the nuclear industry, and said another important issue in the final deal is that "the sanctions should be removed completely on the same day (of the implementation) of any agreement".