West’s negotiation/coercion strategy will not work: Iran
Tehran believes that its nuclear program is a technical issue and all related problems should be resolved at the International Atomic Energy Agency, Larijani told reporters after a one-hour meeting with Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri.
However, if some countries want to politicize the issue, Iran will have to use its capabilities in political negotiations to resolve the matter, he noted.
But the policy of alternating between negotiations and coercion will not work, he insisted. Commenting on Iran’s plan to start up 3000 nuclear centrifuges by late March 2007, Larijani said, “The project is at a proper stage.”
The SNSC secretary expressed regret over the breakdown of nuclear talks with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana. “I personally had four rounds of constructive meetings with Mr. Solana as the representative of the group (5+1 group), but they cut off the dialogue and moved toward a (UN Security Council) resolution.” Lack of commitment to the results of negotiations would create more distrust, Larijani noted, but added, “We are still committed to talks.”
He said the 5+1 group could have replaced Solana with another negotiator if they were not satisfied with the result of the talks.
Diplomats expect a resolution imposing limited sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt nuclear fuel work will be approved by the UN Security Council before Christmas.
“They should realize that they will not gain much by issuing a resolution against Iran,” he observed.
Iran will give an “appropriate response to the resolution and this decision will put Iran in a new situation,” he added. Larijani called the UN Security Council’s behavior “unwise”, saying that “passing a resolution would affect Iran’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.”
Any UN resolution will force Iran to review its “political and economic” relations with some countries, he stated.