P5+1 to Be Responsible in Case of Stalemate in Nuclear Talks:Iranian Cleric

MOSCOW, December 26 (Sputnik) — Responsibility for any stalemate that may arise during negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group should be assumed by the world powers, a senior Iranian cleric said Friday.

“[Iranian] foreign minister’s [recent] letter to the [foreign] ministers of the world showed that we will never give up our rights, and [that] the P5+1 would be responsible for any problems that might occur in the nuclear talks,” Ayatollah Mohammed Emami Kashani said in a speech at Friday prayers in Tehran, as quoted by Press TV.

According to the channel, the cleric also dismissed accusations from certain Western countries that Iran was intending to create a nuclear bomb.

In a letter published Wednesday and addressed to the foreign ministers of all countries in the world, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote that Tehran had proposed "practical, balanced and realistic solutions" to reach a "fair and wise agreement" on Iran's nuclear program and stressed that the country had no plans to abandon absolutely its right to develop nuclear energy.

The P5+1 group, which comprises Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China and Germany has been holding talks with Iran since 2006 in an attempt to reach a deal assuring the peaceful nature of Tehran’s nuclear program. The latest rounds of talks took place in Vienna in November and in Geneva in December. The initial deadline for reaching an agreement was November 24, 2014 however the parties failed to reach a comprehensive deal. The new deadline is scheduled for July 1, 2015.