Irans Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said that it had received a letter from the Foreign Ministers of Britain, France, and Germany indicating that they were willing for negotiations to resume from where they were left off in August.
Britains Jack Straw, Frances Philippe Douste-Blazy, and Germanys Frank-Walter Steinmeier were responding to a letter by Iranian SNSC secretary general Ali Larijani, who had offered to resume talks provided that Iran continue to carry out uranium conversion, a condition that the EU-3 had originally ruled but have since reluctantly accepted.
The letter was delivered by the three countries’ ambassadors to Tehran in a meeting with the SNSC deputy secretary general, Javad Vaeedi, on Sunday, the SNSC said in a statement.
Irans official news agency IRNA reported that the EUs response marks a retreat from their earlier stance when they had made resumption of talks conditional to Iran’s renewed suspension of its uranium enrichment activities.
Members of the hardline-dominated Majlis (parliament) praised the countrys ultra-Islamist President Ahmadinejad for his tough and resolute stance which led to the EU retreat.
Irans position in the nuclear talks is gaining more strength every day, Saeed Abutaleb, an ultra-conservative Majlis deputy told the news agency ISNA. The recent statement by the IAEA board of governors is the outcome of the firm position of President Ahmadinejad in his speech at the UN General Assembly, the active diplomacy of our country, and the Majlis resolution which said Iran would resume its nuclear activities if the case is referred to the UN Security Council.
This showed us that whenever we deal firmly with the Europeans and the Americans, and if we are united within our ranks, we will force them to retreat, Abutaleb said.
This is the springboard for more diplomatic victories on the nuclear front. In the next stage, we must resume uranium enrichment activities in Natanz and produce more yellow cake, too, the deputy added.
Another deputy, Ahmad Avai, agreed.
Europe and the U.S. found out that they could not address Iran with the language of force, threats and intimidation, Avai said. We have created an environment that is more conducive to our interests in the nuclear talks.
Parviz Soruri, an influential Majlis deputy who is a former Revolutionary Guards commander and a key ally of President Ahmadinejad, told ISNA that the Americans and the Europeans have realised that if they send Iran to the Security Council, this would be a big shock to the oil market and world economy, and they dont have the capacity to absorb the shock.
On Wednesday, the state-run daily Kayhan, which reflects the views of Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, boasted victory after an “EU climb-down”.
With full confidence that the U.S. and EUs hand is empty, Iran must only accept a continuation of negotiations on the condition that the subject of discussion is how to start enrichment and a clear timeline to do so, the papers editorial noted.
