Iran believes nuclear talks will fail if zero enrichment urged

TEHRAN, May 19 (KUNA) -- Nuclear talks between Iran and the United States will be doomed if Washington continues to urge Tehran to slash its uranium enrichment activities down to zero, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday.
Accusing Washington of "complicating negotiations," Esmail Baghaei told the press that the Islamic Republic's uranium enrichment program is not subject to discussion, underlining that Tehran is still "participating in discussions" with Washington.
He went on to say that Iran's uranium activities are in now way linked to an unpeaceful nuclear program, while Washington insists that any bilateral agreement with Tehran hinges on the condition that Iran drops its enrichment activities to zero.
Iran and the US have thus far held four rounds of indirect negotiations, with a fifth round tentatively slated for the Italian capital Rome. (end) mw.nam