IRAN WILL NOT BACK DOWN ON NUCLEAR RIGHTS: FM

DOHA, May 11 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Iran will not back down on its nuclear rights in the negotiations with the United States, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday, one day ahead of their fourth round of indirect talks in Oman, reported Xinhua.

Speaking at the fourth Arab-Iranian Dialogue Conference in Doha, Araghchi reiterated that Iran has always been a committed member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation and maintains its right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, including uranium enrichment.

"We are not seeking nuclear weapons, and weapons of mass destruction have no place in Iran's security doctrine," he affirmed. "For this reason, we were among the initiators of the creation of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the West Asian region."

Araghchi stressed that Iran continues to engage in talks with the US, as well as other countries, in good faith.

"If the goal of these negotiations is to ensure that Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons, this is entirely achievable, and an agreement is well within reach," he said.

However, if the goal is to deprive Iran of its nuclear rights or impose other unrealistic demands, Iran will not retreat from any of these rights, he said.

Iranian and US delegations have held three rounds of indirect talks so far -- the first and third in Muscat, capital of Oman on April 12 and April 26, and the second in Italy's Rome on April 19.  

--BERNAMA-XINHUA