Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 3 / Trend, S. Isayev, D. Khatinoglu
Resolving the nuclear issue will be a big step towards new relations between Iran and the U.S., which will be based on common interests and mutual respect, U.S. State Department's Persian-speaking spokesman Alan Eyre told Trend.
Speaking about an option of holding direct talks between the U.S. and Iran, Eyre said that U.S. president Barack Obama has repeatedly mentioned before that US is interested in continuing the negotiations with Iran, either within the P5+1 framework, or through direct talks.
"Mr. Obama has said that he's interested in peaceful solution to Iran's nuclear issue, in his letters to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani," the spokesman said.
Eyre underlined that the U.S. insists that Iran should not make nuclear weapons.
"The US does not want regime change in Iran, as it respects Iranian people's peaceful nuclear rights," Eyre said. "Iran has signed the NPT, and should fulfill its obligations."
The U.S. and its Western allies suspect Iran of developing a nuclear weapon - something that Iran denies. The Islamic Republic has on numerous occasions stated that it does not seek to develop nuclear weapons, using nuclear energy for medical researches instead.
Despite being under NPT, Iran is suffering from several rounds of international sanctions, which make it difficult for country to do business with other countries.
Some forces in Iran were negative towards Hassan Rouhani's approach to talks with the U.S. president and its stance on country's nuclear program.
For example, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari called Rouhani`s phone conversation with his US counterpart, a tactical mistake.
Later, extremist groups in Iran, held protests against Rouhani, upon his arrival in Tehran from New York. The protesters threw shoes at Rouhani.
Eyre said that Iran currently can hear only one united voice, from both United States and the international community, which says that Iran should fulfill its nuclear obligations and remove all concerns about its nuclear program.
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