US ‘cautiously optimistic’ on Iran N-talks

US President Barack Obama has expressed Å“cautious optimism” that the Western standoff over Iranâ„¢s nuclear energy program would be resolved under the future administration of Iran’s President-elect Hojjatoleslam Hassan Rohani.

In a Monday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, Obama Å“expressed cautious optimism that with a new election there, we may be able to move forward on a dialogue that allows us to resolve the problems with Iran’s nuclear program.”

Rohani emerged victorious in the presidential election of June 14, which was marked by a high voter turnout, winning 50.7 percent of a total of 36,704,156 ballots counted.

Russian President Putin, whose country, along with the US, is a partner in the P5+1 talks with Iran, also voiced Moscowâ„¢s readiness to contribute to the negotiation process over the Iranian nuclear energy program both on bilateral and international levels.

Tehran and the P5+1 group of world powers – Russia, China, the UK, France and the United States plus Germany – have held several rounds of talks on a range of issues, with the main focus being on Iranâ„¢s nuclear energy program. The two sides wrapped up their latest round of negotiations on April 6 in the Kazakh city of Almaty.

The United States, the Israeli regime, and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Iran rejects the allegation, arguing that as a committed signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

In addition, the IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities, but has never found any evidence showing that Iranâ„¢s civilian nuclear program has been diverted toward non-civilian aspects.

YH/HSN/HJL