Iran says temporary nuclear agreement with U.S. not on its agenda

TEHRAN, May 26 (Xinhua) -- An interim nuclear agreement between Iran and the United States is not on Iran's agenda, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said here Monday.

"A temporary agreement has never been on our agenda and (the issue) has not been raised in the (indirect) talks," Baghaei told a weekly press conference.

Uranium enrichment is an inseparable part of Iran's "peaceful" nuclear program, and Iran will not show any flexibility in that regard, Baghaei said.

Iran will be upbeat about the indirect talks with the United States if the latter has goodwill, but Iran will not "believe that the (diplomatic) process will yield any result" if the latter seeks to deprive Iran of its inalienable rights, he said.

Baghaei added that fresh U.S. sanctions on Iran, which affect the Iranian people's daily lives, can harm the entire process of the talks.

Iran and the United States held five rounds of Oman-mediated indirect talks starting from April on Tehran's nuclear program and the lifting of U.S. sanctions, three of which in Oman's Muscat and two in Rome.

In recent days, U.S. officials have repeatedly demanded that Iran completely cease uranium enrichment, a request firmly rejected by Tehran. ■