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Iran: ‘we are ready’ for a nuclear deal
By Mick Krever, CNN
Iran is serious about resolving the dispute over its nuclear program, and is keen to resolve the issue “in a short period of time,” the speaker of Iran’s parliament, Ali Larijani, told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.
“From Iran's side, I can say that we are ready,” Larijani said from Geneva.
“If the Americans and other countries say that Iran should not develop a nuclear bomb or should not move towards that,” he told Amanpour, “then we can clearly show and prove that. We have no such intention. So it can be resolved in a very short period of time.”
Nonetheless, Larijani said, the West must accept Iran’s right to enrich nuclear fuel for civilian purposes, as allowed under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), to which Iran is a signatory.
“If they want to bargain with us or if they have ulterior motives,” he said, “or maybe they want to somehow convince Iran to abandon its nuclear program, then it is going to take a long time.”
The largest roadblock to a nuclear deal may not be between Iran and the United States, but rather domestically – in both countries – as Presidents Obama and Rouhani work to convince political leaders that a deal is worthwhile.
President Rouhani, in an interview with Amanpour during the U.N. General Assembly, said that he had the blessing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei to negotiate directly with America.
When Rouhani returned to Iran from his whirlwind diplomatic and publicity tour in New York, however, Ayatollah Khamenei said that some of the actions undertaken by the Iranian president were inappropriate.
“The important thing is that overall what he did was approved by the Supreme Leader,” Larijani said, saying that he had showed the world that Iran is “opposed to extremism.”
When Amanpour pushed him on what Ayatollah Khamanei disapproved of – whether it was Obama’s historic phone conversation with Rouhani, the first between leaders of the two countries since the Islamic Revolution – Larijani speculated that that may have been it.
“Maybe,” he said. “I have not asked him. Maybe that was the point, that he said it was not appropriate.”
But Ayatollah Khamanei has endorsed direct negotiations, and Larijani said that upcoming talks in Geneva will be a “very important step.”
“Right now, I have no reason to be pessimistic,” he told Amanpour. “Iran will be very serious about the talks, and Iran really wants to resolve the matter.”
@camanpour on Twitter
Make no mistake about it, Iran will not give up their right to nuclear energy or weapon. So what deal will Iran present that will interest US?
Your signature or your brains on the agreement. The choice is yours.
To start with Iran does not have the right to nuclear weapons, simply because Iran is signature to the NPT. Secondly Iran has stated many times that it has no intention of developing nuclear arms.
Finally If Iran wants nuclear weapons it can go ahead and develop such arms by giving 3 months notice and leaving the NPT and no country can do a thing about it and I bet on your brain if you happen to have any.
You must be severely impaired in reading and/or comprehension. My reply was directed at a character named "Don Maurizo", not at Iran.
As an Iranian I had to reply to a warmongering baboon like you, and my reply was squarely directed at you, I don't care who you'd originally replied to.
kharkosseh beesho'oor boro aval zaboom yad begir baad bia inja zer bezan.
alhagh ke peasant zadeh va r'ayati
martikeh bisavad, man oomadam be ye ahmaghi ke dare charand raje be iran migeh javabe beja midam. avazi ke biai defa koni oomadi be man hamle mikoni. mesle inke to kallat pehen rikhtan. heife noon.
martike ham jado abadete, man ba adame bi aslo nasabi ke doshnam o naseza mige harfi nadaram, Don ham dorost mige, Iran ham kootah nemiad va haghesh ham hast kootah nayad.
Kheili ede'a dari ba savadi maalan? age savad dashti mesle yek ensan gap mizadi.
Godly People enjoy and celebrate diversity lovely whereas some folks lynch those different from them. Nowadays I don't think i can live in a society consisting only of my own, i might be bored to death.
every country has the right to nuclear energy. They don't need US permission for that, they can built nuclear power plant.
After Chernobil and Fukushima I'm not so sure about that. For sure no intelligent or honest country would start a nuclear program for energy reasons.
"For sure no [...] honest country would start a nuclear program for energy reasons."
Say what?! You cannot possibly be that dumb.
The only thing they can show that would be convincing would be a lack of an explosives engineering facility at Parchin. Let us in to look. That's worth some sanctions relief.
Very bad translation
What are you talking about? It was clear and correct. Meanwhile Christian herself knows Persian very well.
Go put your sh..ty comments elsewhere.
This isn’t about Iran’s nuclear program. It’s about America and Israel losing control over Iran in the 1979 revolution, in whcih Iran were under the rule of a puppet dictator rigged into power by the U.S in 1953. Sanctions are meant to cause poverty, thus instability, thus revolt, thus a “regime change” in the words of Barack Obama. The nuclear issue just being an excuse to impose these sanctions.
Damn it I hope that this does not mean they are close to building the Bomb.
Deal? Yea right.
So Iran is more reasonable than the GOP. I have now officially seen everything.
Nuclear deal, puffffff
While hope springs eternal, Iran's position seems to be "Trust me, we have no intention of building a bomb". If that is the case, it probably means they have found a way to "prove" their peaceful intentions without giving up their capability to build a bomb.
they're ready for a deal. what is this "International Let's make a deal"? They've got the costumes. Do they want what's in the box or what's behind curtain number one, two, or three.
Iran may be ready to reach a nuclear deal, but will Israel give the US permission to agree to one?
The question is, how much transparency do we want with Iran's nuclear program? Can that kind of transparency make Israel comfortable about Iran?
That's certainly a good question up to a point. However, unless Israel join the international community and themselves sign the NPT, I do not think the international community needs concern itself unduly with Israel's paranoia.
Israel will never be "comfortable" unless Iran is reduced to ashes. This is a country that has never signed the NPT, has stockpiles of nuclear weapons and has a history of attacking its neighbors without provocation.
Iran, on the other hand, is a country that has not initiated war with any country in over 200 years and is a signatory to the NPT. It was forced to defend itself against Iraq when Saddam Hussein attacked in 1980, WITH BACKING FROM THE US.
In a sane world, everyone would be leery of Israel and its nuclear weapons, not Iran's, even if Iran had any.
Amanpour sounds like Iran's propaganda machine.
And you sound like Israel's. I'd say Iranians got a a better deal.
"Israel... has a history of attacking its neighbors without provocation...."?!.. SquarePants, did you again misplace your pills? Or perhaps you are on a Ayatolla's payroll?
and you are the mouthpiece for Israel
The Iranian people voted for modernization.
Lets give them a chance.
Let US and Iran exchange nukes to wipe out dual evils from the earth. Jai Ho!
How can we trust Iran? They are selling Jeans on the black market inside Israel under the lable "Yellowcake Wranglers"
What kind of deal is my question. And I guess I should ask, if this is for real or only another ploy to buy time.
If it were a ploy to buy time they wouldn't be asking to meet "in a short period of time".
The country cannot live off nuclear weapons & complete isolation. They are already seeing massive economic growth in China & elsewhere. Rouhani at least provides a credible opportunity for long-term peace, providing the rest of the world isn't influenced by Israeli paranoia. Any time you want to research War Crimes in the Middle East, start without the ‘Jew Boys’ Google & use an independent search engine to get a less ‘whitewashed’ version of history, particularly focussing on Amnesty International & the Red Cross, as well as other independent agencies. Amazing how much factual information & Israeli negative criticism doesn’t seem to survive Google~!
This entire situation is now contingent on how the UN inspections go down.
The UN hasn't planned any inspections in Iran. You're confused and uninformed.
Reckon so. Heard there are one or two sites the Iranians do not want UN Inspectors there!
Israel, Israel, über alles !
My posts are not going through! Hope it goes through. Imagine nuclear material in the hands of al-qaeda, taliban, muslim botherhood, hezbollah..etc!!! Look at the turmoil in middle-eastern countries, the internal strife. People are killing, maiming and abusing each other and People in opposing groups have the guts to say 'God willing'. You know some might end up blaming Isreal like they usually do!!!
Rufus Reeta, from your comments I assume you are an ardent Fox News follower. These kind of pretexts are as old as dinosaurs. You have to problems to address before getting to your conclusion; 1. There is no conclusive evidence that Iran is moving towards building a nuclear bomb, 2. There is no linkage between Al-Qaeeda and other Salafi or Wahabbi groups and Iran. IF you are going to make ME a safer place you need radical changes in the power structure of the region. These changes are: 1. US should stop blindly supporting Israel, 2. US and her European allies should put Saudi and Qatar on leash and curb their war mongering ploys and plots in the region, 3. start constructive talks with Iran as the region's natural hegemony with the view of amicable results surfacing from these talks.
But as long as US is backing Saudi and Qatar as the major sponsors of salafi and wahabbi terrorism in the region then you are in no position to make such comments about Iran.
Liar liar pants on fire.... Don't worry Obama will believe you.
Iran has no more inherent right to nuclear technology – and potentially, atomic weaponry – than does the USA, Israel, or anyone else. There is thus no issue of fairness to be concerned with. If fairness were such an issue, perhaps Israel and the US should use rusty old Soviet planes and tanks and guns too, to be more like everyone else in the region? Let's all make our capacity to wage war equal; that's fairness? Nah.
Put another way, Iran as as much right as anyone else to have nuclear technology. Until such time as when the entire world mutually agrees to ban all nuclear technology, neither Iran nor any other country can be singled out to have any sort of ban imposed on them.
Dear Mrs Amanpour ,
Ali Larijani is the MEMBER of a MAFIA CRIME FAMILY in IRAN .
He is not the right PERSON to Interview with CNN.
This translator is hopeless. With these kinda translators, you will just add to all the misundersandings.
The "talks" will take a short time, because they are close to the bomb.
Yasha go over my post again. I ain't fox news follower, actually i avoid it. You say 'There is no linkage between Al-Qaeeda and other Salafi or Wahabbi groups and Iran'. Who said so? In short i wanted to say nuclear/radioactive material should never reach hands of terror groups or lost, bitter, violent individuals who can shoot girls like Malala and order their baby girls on suicide missions like i once read about a 13 year old girl who ran away from home because Daddy told her she will be a matyr if she went on a suicide mission. She told Daddy there is no God/Allah who can say such evil and ran away from home. Remember the russian guy killed using polonium in the UK? Look at the bigger picture, there is a lot of internal strife in the middle east characterised by intense hatreds and bloodshed plus evil suicide mentalities justified by some by calling it the will of God. Not every individual can own a gun Yasha!
Folks should learn to enjoy and celebrate diversity. I reckon Godly(the real Children of Allah) People are like that.
Bin Laden's teacher Zawarhiri is still hiding in Pakistan and we are worried about Iran. Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen are who fund Al Qaeda. Attack them instead of Iran.