A senior Iranian nuclear negotiator says international recognition of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program has been the greatest achievement of the nuclear talks between Tehran and the P5+1 group in Lausanne, Switzerland.
According to media reports, at the end of eight days of intensive nuclear negotiations in Lausanne on Thursday, Iran and the P5+1 states – Russia, China, France, Britain, the US and Germany – adopted a joint statement calling, among other things, for the removal of UN Security Council resolutions and sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Abbas Araqchi, the deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, pointed to the joint statement, saying it officially recognizes Iran’s nuclear program.
“According to this statement, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear program will be credited and recognized internationally, and this is our greatest achievement,” Araqchi said in a telephone interview with IRIB on Thursday night following the release of the statement.
He said that the statement was the result of nearly 16 months of negotiations, adding that Iran has managed to achieve the “basic demands” it was pursuing in the course of the talks.
The senior diplomat said that Iran fulfilled the opposite side’s demand in the negotiations, which was confidence-building over the peaceful nature of Tehran’s nuclear program.
In return, Iran’s “basic and legitimate demands,” the most significant of which was the international recognition of the country’s nuclear program, were met in the negotiations, Araqchi added.
According to the joint statement, none of Iran’s nuclear facilities will be stopped, shut down or suspended and Iran’s nuclear activities in all its nuclear facilities including Natanz, Fordow, Isfahan and Arak will continue.
