Azerbaijan, Baku, September 17 /Trend N. Umid/
Iran will not close Fordo nuclear facility, ISNA news agency reported citing an "informed official".
According to the report, the official -on the condition of anonymity- dismissed western media information which claimed that Rouhani would offer to close Fordo if West eases sanctions.
On September 16, Der Spiegel reported that has learned from intelligence sources that Iran's new president Hassan Rouhani, is reportedly prepared to decommission the Fordo enrichment plant and allow international inspectors to monitor the removal of the centrifuges. In return, he could demand that the United States and Europe rescind their sanctions against the Islamic Republic, lift the ban on Iranian oil exports and allow the country's central bank to do international business again.
The U.S. and its Western allies suspect Iran of developing a nuclear weapon - something that Iran denies.
The Islamic Republic has on numerous occasions stated that it doesn't seek to develop nuclear weapons, but to use nuclear energy for medical researches.
The speaker of Iran's Foreign Ministry, Marzieh Afkham said today at the weekly press conference in Tehran that the negotiations with the P5+1 group will continue to consider the inalienable rights of Iranian nation to use nuclear technology, including uranium enrichment on Iranian soil.
Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said on Sept. 15 that he is optimistic about the further negotiations on nuclear issue between Iran and the P5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany).