Iranian President Hassan Rowhani says Tehran will not give up "one iota" of its nuclear rights, echoing his hardline predecessor, while warning world powers the timeframe for negotiation was not unlimited.
Rowhani spoke on Tuesday ahead of a meeting later this month between Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on restarting negotiations on the Islamic republic's disputed nuclear ambitions.
"Our government will not give up one iota of its absolute rights" in its nuclear activities, said Rowhani, repeating a mantra frequently used by his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Speaking to state television later, Rowhani said his administration had the "necessary determination and mechanism" to "step by step" remove suspicions by Western powers and Israel that Iran's nuclear drive is a cover to build a bomb despite repeated denials by Tehran.
But he warned that "the period of time for resolving the nuclear issue will not be limitless" - suggesting without elaboration that his June 14 election had created an "opportunity" within the regime to end the nuclear showdown.
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"The world should take advantage of this period and the opportunity that our nation created by (my) election," he charged.
Meanwhile, Rowhani claimed, without elaborating, to have the tacit support of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - responsible for all final decisions on the nuclear issue - "for flexibility" in the talks.
Tehran and world powers have failed to achieve a breakthrough in years of talks. Iran, during Ahmadinejad's two terms as president, refused to make any concessions on the nuclear program.
That has led to several sets of international sanctions being slapped on the country, crucially targeting its oil sector and access to the global banking system, choking the economy and stoking a raging inflation.
In parallel efforts, the IAEA is urging Tehran to provide necessary cooperation to remove suspicions it seeks a nuclear weapons capability, ahead of its scheduled September 27 meeting with Iran.
