Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Tuesday that his country will never agree to suspension of enrichment, a pre-condition sought by the West before any resumption of talks on the country's nuclear program.
Mottaki's words were part of his address to the first day-long international conference on Latin America which opened here Tuesday. "The Islamic Republic of Iran will not surrender the nation's right to access nuclear technology for peaceful purposes," he said, according to IRNA.
He said that the demand for suspension of enrichment was illegal and based on a false political policy and strategy.
Mottaki added that Iran was ready to hold talks with all sides to the nuclear issue without pre-conditions. "We think that the inclusion of other parties, including the heads of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), in talks will help bring about more serious and comprehensive talks," he said.
Responding to a question on how Iran would react to a likely second UN Security Council resolution against Iran, he said he hoped no such resolution would be adopted.
Mottaki said that Iran will not allow its bilateral ties with a country to be directed against a third state. Hence, he added, any third country should not consider disturbing Iran's relations with other states.
