Tehran rejected on Monday an option of holding direct talks with Washington on its nuclear program. "There is no justification for accepting suggestions to hold negotiations with a country which adopts a bullying attitude toward others," Hassan Rohani, secretary-general of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, conveyed.
In addition, Rohani played down the importance of talks with Germany, France and Britain and said the Islamic Republic had contacts with these European states in the past year because they initiated this dialogue.
"The other party to the negotiations for us is the International Atomic Energy Agency and we have nothing to do with any other country," he said.
"If we are talking with the Europeans states, it is because we have normal ties with them and they took the initiative to do so."
Meanwhile, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said Monday that his country seeks a Middle East free from nuclear arms, the official IRNA news agency reported.
During his meeting with visiting Singaporean Prime Minister Wu Zuodong, Khatami said "Iran has signed the additional protocol tothe Non-Proliferation Treaty and suspended uranium enrichmentactivities voluntarily."
The weapons of mass destruction have no place in Iran's defense policy, the iranian leader stated. (albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
