“In our opinion, statements made by the European Parliament have no credibility, carry no political weight and will have no impact on nuclear negotiations,” Zarif, who is leading the Iranian negotiating team in talks with the six countries, told reporters in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Monday.
Last Thursday, the European Parliament passed a resolution on the EU strategy toward Iran, expressing concern over the alleged human rights violations in the country.
It also claimed that Iran’s presidential election in June 2013, which was marked by a high voter turnout and led to victory of President Hassan Rouhani, was “not held according to the democratic standards valued by the EU.”
The Iranian foreign minister further said “important decisions” must be made before drafting a final deal on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program can begin.
He expressed hope that Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany would reach a final agreement by the end of the six-month time frame set by the Geneva interim nuclear deal.
“In order to achieve this goal, we need hard work and important decisions to be made,” the Iranian minister said, adding, “We believe that our partners need to make important decisions which include accepting existing realities and respecting the rights of the Iranian nation.”
The Iranian negotiating team arrived in the Austrian capital on Monday to attend the next round of high-level talks with the six powers over Tehran’s nuclear energy program.
