By RIA Novosti
Tehran : Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani proposed on Wednesday that the West come to terms with the Islamic Republic’s possession of nuclear technology.
Praising Iran’s “persistence” in mastering its nuclear program, Larijani said the West had only two options – “either to restrain itself or to recognize Iran and its knowledge in the nuclear sphere and begin cooperation.”
The Iranian official said Tehran’s possession of research data on the peaceful use of nuclear energy had “enhanced Iran’s strategic authority.”
Larijani said Iran as a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was not involved in any illegal nuclear activity and continued to give full cooperation to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“If they [the West] are apprehensive that there are deviations in Iran’s nuclear program, we are ready to listen and take measures to dispel such concerns,” Larijani said.
On August 21, Iran and the IAEA agreed on a plan to resolve, by the year end, all questions the watchdog has about Iran’s nuclear program, which Western countries suspect of being designed to produce weapons but Iran says is aimed at generating energy.
The Iranian official said earlier in the day that he would meet with Javier Solana, the EU’s foreign policy and security chief, on Tehran’s controversial nuclear program in Rome on October 23.