Iran to 'discipline' West by holding off nuclear talks

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday that Iran will hold off talks with world powers on Tehran’s nuclear programme until the end of August as a way to “discipline” the West.

The hard-line leader said at a Tehran news conference that Iran would also seek the inclusion of Brazil and Turkey in the nuclear fuel swap negotiations with the United States, France and Russia.

When asked about when Tehran would talk with world powers over its nuclear programme, Ahmadinejad said the “negotiations [would likely occur] after the middle of Ramadan”, around the end of August.

“This is ... so that they [the world powers] are disciplined a bit and learn the way of talking to other nations.”

On the separate issue of the nuclear fuel swap deal, Ahmadinejad said Iran was ready to talk, “but the talks will be held on the basis of the Tehran Declaration”.

“Naturally if France, Russia and the US are coming from the other side, from this side it will be Iran, Turkey and Brazil who will participate in the talks,” Ahmadinejad said.

The fuel “exchange is a way for engagement and this is better than confrontation”.

On May 17, Iran, Turkey and Brazil signed what is now called the Tehran Declaration, a proposal that envisages shipping Iran’s low-enriched uranium to Turkey to be followed at a later date with the supply of high enriched uranium to Tehran from Russia and France.—AFP