Iran nuclear team not to tolerate threats

A senior Iranian negotiator says the country’s nuclear team will never allow the opposite side to use the language of threat in the course of negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Seyyed Abbas Araqchi made the remarks on Monday after Iranian lawmakers announced a bill that, if passed, would require a halt to nuclear negotiations between Tehran and the P5+1 group until the United States stops its threatening rhetoric against the Islamic Republic.

The bill, with a triple-urgency status, would oblige the government to halt nuclear talks with the six countries until Washington apologizes to Tehran and puts an end to threats against Iran, according to Javad Karimi Qoddusi, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) .

The Iranian nuclear team has never allowed any talk of threat to emerge during the course of nuclear talks and the opposite side has not used the language of threat in the negotiations to date, Araqchi said.

The move by Iranian legislators followed Washington’s fresh threats of military action against Iran amid the ongoing talks over Tehran’s nuclear program.

US Secretary of State John Kerry as well as Vice President Joe Biden have recently said that the military option is still on the table regarding Iran.

On May 6, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei described as “unacceptable” the use of threats concurrent with the nuclear negotiations and said that Washington’s need for the nuclear talks is not less than Tehran’s, if not more.

The Leader also cautioned the Iranian negotiators to observe the country’s red lines in the course of the talks.

The US threats come as Iran and the P5+1 group of countries are seeking to finalize a comprehensive deal on Tehran’s nuclear program by the end of June. The two sides reached a mutual understanding in Lausanne, Switzerland, on April 2.