TEHRAN, June 30 -- The world powers should be " realistic" in nuclear talks with Iran so that results could be achieved, senior Iranian nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi was quoted as saying by state IRIB TV on Monday.
Excessive demands of the so-called P5+1 group (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany) in the talks is a barrier to reach a comprehensive nuclear agreement, Araqchi said, adding that it would be an " illusion" to think that Iran might give in to the pressures via-a- vis its nuclear rights.
If the West is serious to find a way out of the current situation in the talks, they should "consider realities of Iran's nuclear program since the talks will advance based on realities," Araqchi said ahead of the next round of nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 group slated for Wednesday in Vienna.
Over the past 10 years, western countries issued resolutions and imposed sanctions on Iran "but to no avail," he said.
"The Iranian nuclear issue can only be solved through fair talks, use of confidence-building options and respect Iran's rights," he stressed.
The fifth round of Iranian nuclear talks concluded on June 20 in Vienna with some progress on drafting the framework of a final deal, while gaps over some topics remained.
In the latest talks, Iran was asked to decrease the number of centrifuges to ensure that it cannot quickly produce enough material for a nuclear bomb. But Iran said it needs more centrifuges to produce uranium to fuel more nuclear plants for electricity.
Iran and Russia had agreed to finalize a deal for the construction of two nuclear power plants in the southern Iranian port city of Bushehr, Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said last week.
Under the interim Geneva deal last November, Iran undertook to freeze some controversial nuclear activities in six months in exchange for a limited easing of western sanctions.
