US to blame if nuclear talks fail to bear fruit: Iran MP

25 October 2014 | 18:44 Code : 1940021 Latest Headlines

A senior Iranian lawmaker says the US will be to blame should the ongoing nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 group fail to culminate in a final deal on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program.

On Friday, Chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran’s Majlis Alaeddin Boroujerdi said the Islamic Republic has honored its obligations under the interim accord it inked with the six countries – the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany – last year.

“If this [final] agreement is not signed, it is as clear as day that the excessive demands of Americans have been the factor behind the failure of the negotiations,” stressed the top Iranian parliamentarian.

Boroujerdi’s remarks came after US Under-Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on Thursday that Iran would be responsible for any failure to reach a permanent accord over Tehran’s civilian nuclear work.

“If that does not happen, the responsibility will be seen by all to rest with Iran,” claimed Sherman, who is the chief US negotiator in the nuclear talks with Tehran.

Iran and the six major world powers are in talks to work out a final deal aimed at ending the longstanding dispute over the country’s peaceful nuclear activities as a November 24 deadline approaches.

Last November, the two sides clinched an interim nuclear accord, which took effect on January 20 and expired six months later. However, they agreed to extend their talks until November 24 as they remained divided on a number of key issues.

Sources close to the Iranian negotiating team say the main stumbling block in the way of resolving the Western dispute over Iran’s nuclear energy program remains to be the removal of all the bans slapped on the Islamic Republic and not the number of centrifuges or the level of uranium enrichment.

Tehran wants the sanctions entirely lifted while Washington, under pressure from the pro-Israeli lobby, insists that at least the UN-imposed sanctions should remain in place.