TEHERAN - Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Hassan Rohani warned on Thursday an agreement with the European Union on Wednesday to provide a two-month breathing space in nuclear talks could still unravel if Iran's leadership objects. "We told them (the EU) we neither reject your proposal nor accept it," Rohani told state television the day after talks with the foreign ministers of Britain, Germany and France appeared to avert a major showdown over Iran's nuclear plans.
"We will take it to Tehran and if it is acceptable to Tehran then we can discuss it and finalize the talks. But it might be totally unacceptable to Tehran," he added.
| "Pssst: Mahmoud, hurry the hell up with that uranium, I can't stall them much longer." |
Rohani's reference to "Tehran" was likely to mean Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last word on all state matters as befitting a dictator and takes an active role in supervising key foreign policy decisions.
Officials said after the Geneva talks Iran had agreed to maintain the suspension of nuclear work and give the EU until early August to come up with a detailed proposal on a final deal. "The basis of the talks was that there had to be a timetable for delivering on the Paris agreement. The Paris agreement couldn't go on forever," said Rohani who has frequently accused the EU of dragging out the negotiations in an effort to keep Iran's nuclear activities indefinitely frozen.
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