An Iranian member of the parliament warned Saturday that the West may demand
more concession from Iran even if the Islamic Republic agrees to suspend its
uranium enrichment, local Fars News Agency reported.
"In case Iran accepts to suspend its nuclear enrichment activities, our
country would be deprived of its other international rights too," Reza Talayee
Nik was quoted as saying.
"Considering the West's unstable approach towards Iran's nuclear case, there
is no guarantee that the Western states would stop seeking excuses after Iran
suspends its uranium enrichment activities," he said.
Nik, who is also a member of the parliament's National Security and Foreign
Policy Commission, said that while Iran was ready to attend nuclear talks with
the West, Tehran may not accept to suspend its enrichment activities.
Accepting suspension as a prerequisite to talks with the West would be a big
error for Iran and such a move could end in the "demolition of its nuclear
technology," Nik said.
The Iranian parliamentarian also warned that the United States was targeting
Iran as it was seeking to dominate the region and the world.
"In fact, Washington intends to deprive Iran of its right of independence.
This actually constitutes a part of the U.S. hegemonic policies," he said.
The U.N. Security Council on July 31 adopted a resolution urging Tehran to
"suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research
and development" by Aug. 31 or face the prospect of sanctions.
Due to insistence of council members such as Russia and China, the resolution
dropped the threat of immediate sanctions and required the council to hold
further discussions before sanctions are considered.
Iranian officials have recently expressed indignation over the U.N. demand,
warning the United Nations against taking acrimonious measures to force Iran to
comply or Iran would quit the NPT and stop cooperation with the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IDEA).
The United States has accused Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons
under a civilian front, a charge categorically denied by Tehran which says that
its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.