TEHRAN: Senior Iranian religious figure Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani yesterday urged the United States to stop threatening the Islamic republic with new sanctions if it wants talks over the country’s nuclear drive.
US Secretary of State Hillary “Clinton says ‘we are ready for talks but beside that we prepare for paralyzing sanctions against Iran’,” Rafsanjani said in his Friday prayer sermon carried live on state radio.
“What can they expect of us when such things are said?” the influential cleric said, adding: “They’d better not repeat these comments so the atmosphere existing in Iran today for talks is not ruined.”
Rafsanjani, also a top adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Tehran was ready to hold negotiations with Washington if the United States chose the “right path and proved its good will.”
Clinton said on Wednesday the administration of President Barack Obama is prepared to push for tough sanctions against Iran if the new dialogue fails. On Wednesday, Iran responded favorably to a call from major powers to resume dialogue on its controversial nuclear program, while reaffirming that it would continue with its activities in the sector.
Engaging Iran has marked a major shift in Washington’s policy toward Tehran under Obama, whose predecessor, George W. Bush, shunned direct talks as long as Iran continued with its uranium enrichment work.
“What is the difference between such talks (by Clinton) and what Mr. Bush used to say?,” Rafsanjani said. “This language is not proper for the face they want to show for change,” he added.
Western powers fear that Iran’s nuclear drive could be a cover for efforts to build an atomic bomb, but Tehran insists it is aimed purely at generating electricity for a growing population.
