Iran rejects Obama’s nuclear demand as ‘unacceptable’

PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran rejected on Tuesday, March 3, as "unacceptable" U.S. President Barack Obama's demand that it freeze sensitive nuclear activities for at least 10 years but said it would continue talks on a deal, Reuters reported.

Iran laid out the position as the U.S. and Iranian foreign ministers met for a second day of negotiations and as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a stinging critique of the agreement they are trying to hammer out.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met a day after Obama told Reuters that Iran must commit to a verifiable halt of at least 10 years on sensitive nuclear work for a landmark atomic deal to be reached.

"Iran will not accept excessive and illogical demands," Zarif was quoted by Iran's semi-official Fars news agency as saying.

"Obama’s stance ... is expressed in unacceptable and threatening phrases," he was reported as saying, adding that talks with Kerry in Switzerland would nonetheless carry on, according to Reuters.

Speaking before the U.S. Congress in Washington, Netanyahu warned Obama against accepting a nuclear deal with Iran that would be a "countdown to a potential nuclear nightmare" by a country that "will always be an enemy of America".

"If the deal now being negotiated is accepted by Iran, that deal will not prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons - it will all but guarantee that Iran will get those nuclear weapons, lots of them," the Israeli leader said in a 39-minute point-by-point critique of Obama's Iran diplomacy.

Obama later said Netanyahu had offered no "viable alternatives" in his speech for dealing with Tehran and urged Congress to withhold judgment until an agreement with Iran had been finalized. Obama said he would only agree to a deal that prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Kerry and Zarif met for more than five hours on Tuesday in the Swiss lakeside town of Montreux, negotiating during most of Netanyahu's extended criticism of their efforts in Washington.

Asked if the two sides had reached an agreement, Zarif replied: "We'll try, that's why we are here. The only way to move forward is through negotiations."

Kerry told reporters: "We're working away. Productively."

The two sides have set a deadline of late March to reach a framework agreement and of June for a comprehensive final settlement to curb Iran's nuclear activity to ensure it cannot be put to bomb making in return for easing economic sanctions.