Baku, Azerbaijan, March 15
By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:
Iranian parliament speaker, Ali Larijani said Iran would not cooperate with the 5+1 group (the US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) beyond the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) unless the powers lift all sanctions on the country's economy.
He also stated that the Iranian parliament will give its full support to the Iranian diplomatic team negotiating with the six powers, Fars news agency reported March 15.
Larijani also commented on the recent US senators' letter on the negotiations.
He said "the letter shows how Israeli money can work its way into corrupting political behavior," noting that the senators' act in addressing the open letter to Iranian statesmen has brought disgrace on the US.
Earlier this week, 47 US senators addressed an open letter spearheaded by freshman senator Tom Cotton to Iranian leaders, warning them that any deal with the Obama administration on Iran's nuclear activities will be annuled with the stroke of a pen.
"This group, in fact proved to the world that the US cannot be trusted," Larijani said. "They created the question for all governments around the world who they are negotiating with when conducting diplomatic relations with the US."
Iran and the 5+1 group are holding talks on Tehran's nuclear program. They have set an end of March deadline to reach a political understanding, and a July 1 deadline to strike a deal.
Iranian leaders keep saying that any deal would require the lifting of all sanctions.