New Iranian president Hassan Rouhani urges 'serious' nuclear talks
Hassan Rouhani says he’s ‘determined’ to resolve nuclear issue
Iran’s new President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday he was “seriously determined” to resolve a dispute with the West over Tehran’s nuclear programme and was ready to enter “serious and substantive” negotiations on the issue.
But addressing his first news conference as president, he said the other side should realise a solution could be reached “solely through talks, not threats”. He said he was confident the concerns of both sides could be removed in a short time.
Hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the nuclear issue have risen with Rouhani’s win over conservative rivals in June, when voters replaced hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with a cleric whose watchword is “moderation” but who is still very much an Islamic Republic insider.
The United States said it would be a “willing partner” if Iran was serious about finding a peaceful solution to the issue.
Iran’s critics say that it has used previous nuclear negotiations as a delaying tactic while continuing to develop nuclear weapons-related technology – something Tehran denies. Iran says it needs atomic power for energy generation and medical research.