Rouhani-Obama phone call focused on sanctions, nuclear issue: Iranian official

TEHRAN,Sept.30(MNA) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and U.S. President Barack Obama discussed ways to lift the sanctions imposed on Iran and Iran’s nuclear program during their telephone conversation in New York on Friday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Saturday. However, Araqchi noted that a history of strained relations cannot be normalized by a single telephone conversation or a meeting and those who expect this are misguided. He went on to say that Iran will not make any concessions on the people’s right to nuclear energy and emphasized that the Islamic Republic will not suspend uranium enrichment. The Iranian deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs added that the Iranian president opened a new chapter in the country’s foreign policy and defended the people’s rights during his speech at the 68th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Araqchi also stated that practical steps should be taken to change the nature of the relationship between Iran and the United States. “We are at the beginning of a long path. We have our pessimism, and as the Supreme Leader has said, there is no optimism in these negotiations. However, it is a path that the Leader has said he is not opposed to,” he added. “The United States is not a monolithic entity. There are different and sometimes conflicting views and parties there. And there are people who are following the Zionist regime (of Israel) and do not want to see any change in the relations between Iran and the U.S. and are playing their role to spoil any progress,” he said. The fact that the U.S. has stepped forward for talks with Iran shows the Iranian nation’s greatness, Araqchi noted. “The U.S., which has put sanctions on Iran for (about) 35 years and has tightened the sanctions for 10 years, is now approaching Iran and asking for dialogue and negotiation.” On the talks between Iran and the 5+1 group, (China, Russia, France, Britain, the U.S., and Germany), he said the goal is to get all the sanctions against Iran lifted and to allay logical concerns, which would be a win-win situation for both sides. The United States, Israel, and some of their allies accuse Iran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear energy program. However, the International Atomic Energy Agency has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that Iran’s civilian nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.