FM: Iran vows to keep its nuclear programme

Iran has no intention to stop any part of its nuclear program, its foreign minister said on Saturday before imminent talks with world powers on a comprehensive nuclear deal. "They (westerners) well know that we have never sought and do not seek nuclear weapons and that our nuclear program is peaceful. So, Iran has no intention of stopping any kind of its nuclear activities and the opposite side knows this," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif said. Zarif also said the United States must make a "very tough" decision. He urged Washington to face "realities" about Iran's nuclear program once forever and "stop having fantasies" of halting it. The minister's words was a reaction to the latest remarks by U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry. The U.S. diplomat said on Thursday that Iran is going to make some "very tough decisions ... in order to meet the international community's standard for certainty as to the peacefulness of this (nuclear) program." Zarif said Iran has "never sought to produce nuclear weapons and will not do so in the future." He also called on the United States to recognize Iran's rights for "peaceful" nuclear activities. U.S. officials have urged Iran to take further steps beyond the commitments under the interim nuclear deal to prove its nuclear activities are for civilian use. Iran and the P5+1 group, namely the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany, clinched an interim nuclear deal in Geneva, Switzerland, in November last year. The deal took effect in January. Under the deal, Iran agreed to freeze part of its nuclear activities in exchange for a relief of Western sanctions on its economy. The two sides are expected to meet again on Monday to hammer out a final agreement.