Iran's president says ready for "serious" talks over nuclear issue

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TEHRAN, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Iran's new president said here Tuesday that the Islamic republic is ready for talks with world powers over the issues around the country's nuclear program.

Talking to reporters two days after he was sworn in, Hassan Rouhani said, "We are ready to enter negotiations (with the world powers) seriously and without losing the time," insisting that he will not negotiate on what he referred to as "the nuclear rights" of his nation.

"The nuclear rights of the Iranian nation will be on the agenda of this government and we will not slacken over the nation's rights," he said, arguing that Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and should enjoy the advantages safeguarded for the member states.

Asked if the uranium enrichment activities of Iran will be negotiated in the upcoming talks, Rouhani said the uranium " enrichment is our inalienable right" and in Iran nobody says that enrichment activities will be dropped.

However, if the other party is ready, "I am sure that both sides' concerns will be addressed in a short time," the Iranian president said.

"Dialogues rather than threats" should overwhelm the atmosphere of the talks between the two sides and the "illegal and inappropriate demands" of the Western states will not lead to any results. he said.

About recent U.S. responses to the results of Iran's presidential election and the possibility of direct talks between both states, the moderate Iranian president said that his country has not received any "appropriate" signals but some "mixed responses" from the United States, which shows that "they do not have any clear understandings about the realities of Iran" and its recent election.

Rouhani's remarks were an allusion to the U.S. administration's recent call for engaging with Iran over diverse issues on one hand and the U.S. congress' ratification of tougher sanctions against Iran on the other.

"Contradiction" in the words and actions of the U.S. officials are indicative of "inconsistency" of the U.S. policies towards Iran, the seventh Iranian president pointed out.

However, if the national interests of Iran are addressed in the talks, the Islamic republic will "negotiate with everyone including the United States," he emphasized.

The Iranian president reiterated that goodwill, mutual respect and equal footings are the prerequisites for any progress in the talk over the issues concerned.

He said "I am not pleased with the carrot and stick approach" of the United States and its allies. The objective of the sanctions is to inflict pressures on the people but the Iranians have proved that they have withstood the pressures and will remain resistant, he added.

Rouhani vowed his government will start "serious" talks with the powers to reduce the impact of the sanction pressures on the people.

The United States and its allies have revved up sanctions against Iran 's energy and financial sectors to force the Islamic republic to stop its uranium enrichment activities.

Western powers have long been at loggerheads with Iran over the country's sensitive nuclear activities, which the former suspects might have been directed at military program, with the latter insisting on its peaceful nature.

During his presidential campaign, Rouhani pledged to solve Iran 's nuclear issue in "constructive interaction" with the world and to cooperate with the regional states for establishing peace and security.

In Iran's June-14 election, Rouhani won over the support of pro- reform camp and beat his rival conservatives.

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