Tehran, Iran, Dec. 9
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
Iran has suggested formation of a joint nuclear energy council to the Gulf states.
Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi said that the proposed council would be similar to the Southeast Asian and Latin American councils for nuclear energy, Iran's Mehr News agency reported on Dec. 9.
"Some European countries have declared their readiness to construct nuclear power plants in Iran, but we'll not wait for any country," he said, adding the country needs to secure its national interests.
In regards to the nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1, Salehi said that the two sides will very likely reach a comprehensive agreement.
"Based on the Geneva deal, if the two sides fail to reach an agreement, each party would go back to its state before the interim deal," he noted.
Iran and P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council comprising of China, France, Russia, Britain, the US Plus Germany) sealed an interim deal in Geneva on November 24,2013 to pave the way for the full resolution of the West's decade-old dispute with Iran over the country's nuclear energy program.
The Geneva deal took effect on January 20 and expired on July 20.
However the two sides agreed to extend their talks for four months until Nov. 24 to reach a permanent deal on Iran's disputed nuclear program.
During a meeting held on November 24, 2014, the sides agreed to extend the talks for a further seven months.