By DPA,
Madrid : Iranian parliament chairman Ali Larijani has urged the US to present a clear proposal to his country, saying Tehran would not “negotiate for the sake of negotiating” but to reach a “definitive solution”.
Larijani was speaking at a press conference Monday during a visit to Madrid, where Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero urged Tehran to make a “gesture” to the international community in order to relaunch its relations with the US.
US President Barack Obama and high-ranking members of his administration have indicated their willingness to hold talks with Iran, but to continue efforts to keep Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon. Iran is under pressure from the international community over its nuclear programme, which it says is peaceful, but which observers fear is intended to create a nuclear bomb.
If the new US administration “believes in some plan”, it should offer it via diplomatic channels, Larijani said.
Iran needed to feel that there was a “firm decision to solve the problems of the region” and that the US was seeking a “strategic” rather than just “tactical” change, Larijani said, warning against using a “double standard” on terrorism.
Tehran needed to offer Washington a “margin of trust” after Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had shown willingness to open a dialogue with Iran, government sources quoted Zapatero as telling Larijani.
Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos also held talks with the former Iranian nuclear negotiator, who visited Spain with an Iranian parliamentary delegation.
Moratinos and Larijani discussed a “new phase” in relations with the US, the foreign ministry said in a press release.
The Spanish minister told Larijani that Iran could play a “constructive role” in the Middle East peace process within the framework of “strict respect” for UN decisions.