* Iran, powers to meet in Baghdad on May 23
* Iran says “optimistic”, wants sanctions lifted
* Iran accused West of double standards
(Adds quotes, background)
By Fredrik Dahl
VIENNA, May 2 (Reuters) – Iran said on Wednesday it was
seeking an end to Western sanctions over its arms programme
during talks with world powers and criticised France for helping
Israel, the only country in the Middle East widely believed to
have atomic weapons.
An adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
said the talks in Baghdad on May 23 should lead to the lifting
of sanctions, according to Iranian media.
The comments reflect increasing emphasis in the Islamic
Republic that an end to sanctions is vital to the success of the
talks. It was also the first time an influential political
figure explicitly said he expects progress on the issue.
“At the least, our expectation is the lifting of sanctions,”
Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel said in answer to a question.
The United States and its allies say Iran’s nuclear
programme is a cover for developing atomic weapons, a charge
Tehran denies.
They have imposed new sanctions against Iran’s energy and
banking sectors since the beginning of this year and the
European Union is set to impose a total embargo on the purchase
of Iranian crude oil in July.
In Vienna, Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mahdi
Akhondzadeh sought to turn the tables on the Western powers. He
said nuclear weapons had no place in Iran’s defence doctrine,
and accused “certain” states of double standards.
He took aim at France, a key player in tightening sanctions
on Iran, and said it had “spared no effort” in helping Isreal –
widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle
East. He did not elaborate.
“The existence of nuclear weapons in the hands of…Israel
continues to pose the gravest threat to the stability and
security” in the Middle East, Akhondzadeh said.
Israel neither confirms nor denies it has nuclear weapons,
under an ambiguity designed to deter regional foes but avoid
arms races.
The United States and Israel regard Iran’s nuclear ambitions
as the main threat in the volatile region, prompting persistent
speculation they might attack its atomic sites if diplomacy
fails to resolve the dispute.
OPTIMISTIC ABOUT PROGRESS
Akhondzadeh said the existence of nearly 23,000 nuclear
warheads in the world and their continued modernisation was the
“most serious threat to the survival of mankind.”
The nuclear weapon states should agree a target date for
“the total elimination” of their atomic arsenals, he said.
The five recognised nuclear weapon states are the United
States, Russia, China, France and Britain.
Akhondzadeh said Iran was optimistic about progress in the
talks in Baghdad, but it will never give up its right to the
peaceful use of atomic energy.
“We continue to be optimistic about upcoming negotiations,”
Akhondzadeh said in a speech to a nuclear non-proliferation
conference in Vienna, attended also by Western states.
But he added: “There should be no doubt that the great
nation of Iran…will never abandon exercising its inalienable
right to peaceful use of nuclear energy and technology,”
The talks with the United States, Russia, China, Germany,
France and Britain resumed in mid-April in Istanbul after more
than a year – a chance for the powers and Iran to halt a
deterioration in diplomacy and help avert the threat of a new
Middle East war.
Western governments have credited the sanctions against
Iran’s financial institutions as instrumental in forcing Tehran
back to the negotiating table.
European diplomats have said an EU oil embargo is a valuable
tool and is unlikely to be lifted unless tangible progress is
made at the meeting.
“I hope the Baghdad negotiations complete the talks that
took place in Istanbul and the other side should take note that
it should use rational behaviour with Iran and (the) country
will never surrender to pressure,” Fars news agency quoted
Haddad Adel as saying.
(Additional reporting by Marcus George in Dubai; Writing by
Alessandra Rizzo; Editing by Diana Abdallah)
