The Iranian President Hassan Rohani said Saturday that a nuclear deal between his country and world powers over Tehran’s nuclear program was “within reach” and that he expected sanctions placed on his country to be lifted as soon as the deal was signed.
“If the other party respects the rights of the Iranian nation and our national interests and doesn’t seek excessive demands, I believe a deal is within reach,” Rohani said during a press conference marking the second anniversary of his election.
Rohani maintained that his country would allow international inspectors into Tehran’s nuclear plants, but affirmed that his country would never compromise state secrets.
"Iran will absolutely not allow its national secrets to fall into the hands of foreigners through the Additional Protocol or any other means," Rohani said, referring to a mechanism that would allow for more intrusive inspections of Iranian nuclear sites.
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His comments calmed recent speculations by certain officials involved in the negotiations, who suggested that the discussions were stuck.
Meanwhile, in Iran some are worried that the sanctions would not be lifted immediately after the agreement was signed.
Asked whether the wait for relief could be as long as a year, the Iranian leader said, “A one-year difference is totally untrue ... It might be one month, we are still discussing.”
While the United States and other countries involved in the negotiations are for a diplomatic deal, Israel has been actively lobbying against the deal. In a move that angered the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at the floor of the U.S. Congress in March to convince lawmakers to vote against any deal with Iran.
Therefore, out of fears that the deal could be canceled by any future leader of a negotiating country, Rohani said that Iran wants the deal to be ratified by the United Nations Security Council. The deadline for an agreement is set for June 30. But Rohani said that his government was willing to extend the talks in case more time was needed.
“We will not waste time, but we should also not restrict ourselves to a specific deadline,” he said.
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