TEHRAN — Parliament speaker Ali Larijani warned world powers Sunday that Tehran could “seriously decrease” its cooperation with the UN atomic watchdog after it demanded Iran halt work on a second nuclear plant.
Larijani told the conservative-dominated parliament that Washington and other members of the P5-plus-1 group, who are in talks with Tehran over its nuclear programme, must change their approach towards Iran.
“The Iranian parliament warns the US and other members of the five-plus-one group not to think that such kind of outdated games will give you a chance for haggling,” said Larijani, who was previously Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator.
“Do not make the parliament and the Iranian nation choose another path and seriously decrease cooperation with the IAEA.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Friday demanded that Iran halt construction of a new uranium enrichment facility near the Shiite holy city of Qom, known as Fordo, and urged increased cooperation from Tehran on nuclear issues.
Larijani, who has repeatedly accused the West of trying to “trick” Iran in negotiations over an IAEA-drafted nuclear fuel deal, repeated the charge in his address to parliament.
“This negotiation shows that they (world powers) are not seeking a dialogue, but are seeking to commit a political swindle because (they) should have welcomed Iran’s early announcement of the Fordo pla… >>>
