Hossein Sheikholeslam, an advisor to Iran’s parliament speaker, has dismissed as ridiculous a US appeal to Iran to disconnect its centrifuges [from feeds of uranium].

The advisor told Fars News Agency on Monday that the offer which has been given extensive coverage by Western media has yet to be officially floated.

If that happens, it would reveal that Washington takes a childish view of the ongoing nuclear talks, or that the Americans are treating Iranians as idiots, he said.

Sheikholeslam went on to say that by so doing the White House intends to imply that although it has put forth yet another constructive proposal to advance the talks, Tehran has rejected the offer.

He also said that such an offer translates to an insult to the Iranian nation and its dignity.

His comments came after Washington called for disconnecting Iran’s centrifuge cascades instead of reducing their numbers, trying to play up the offer as a confidence-building measure.

Former Director General of the Africa Department at the Iranian Foreign Ministry Javid Ghorban Oghli in an opinion piece in Arman-e Emrooz newspaper on September 22 highlighted “a change in Russia’s behavior” as far as Iran’s nuclear dossier is concerned.

In “The challenges of nuclear talks” piece, he wrote given the present conditions – Western sanctions against Russia in the aftermath of the Ukraine crisis – Moscow is not willing to let its ties and economic cooperation with Tehran undergo any change. What comes below is the translation of part of his opinion piece:

It should not be forgotten that nuclear talks are facing some challenges, one of which is the position of either side on the amount of uranium enrichment and the number of centrifuges.

Unfortunately, such matters are pitched across the country as an indication of [Western] greed and acquisitiveness. Everyone knows that Iran is determined to carry on with the talks until they produce results.

Such determination on the part of the Iranian side can be noticed by the Western negotiators more than anyone else. Now, Western nations know well that despite the pressures exerted on the Iranian negotiating team at home, Iran has stepped in the direction of a deal which could transform the political future of the region and the international community at large. Iran is in quest of a good agreement or in other words a solution.

Another challenge in the way of the talks is the Russian behavior. As things are, Russia is not willing to see its trade relations with Iran change. If Moscow’s behavior undergoes any change, it seems necessary that Iran’s negotiators mention it.

The final challenge has nothing to do with the technical aspect of the talks. Rather, it’s the pressure that Iran’s negotiating team is under at home. For the time being, Iranian negotiators are dealing with such challenges in New York and everyone hopes that both sides will overcome them.

Approximately 94 percent of Iranians say their country needs a nuclear energy program. On Monday (September 22), Kayhan newspaper put the results of an opinion poll reported by Agence France Presse (AFP) in its special news column.

The poll conducted by the University of Tehran Center for Public Opinion Research and the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland interviewed 1,037 Iranians by telephone between July 11 and 17.

Based on the survey’s results, while 79 percent of those interviewed said they would back a deal which even included Iranian assurances never to produce an atomic bomb, a large majority admitted demands such as dismantling half of Iran’s centrifuges and limiting nuclear research would be unacceptable.

The poll showed that three-quarters of those asked said they believe America would find some other excuses to impose sanctions, fearing the United States dominate or block its development.

And finally the results show that Iranians are divided about the likelihood of success in the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. A large majority say they would not blame Iranian officials if the talks fail.