Iran's president said Sunday that his country will not surrender what it considers its right to nuclear development but that it would be "transparent" in negotiations over the contested program.
Speaking Sunday to a group of Iranian medical and nuclear experts, President Hassan Rouhani appeared to be trying to counter hard-liners in his country who say he plans to give up the program in exchange for sanctions relief.
"If the world seeks good relations with Iran, it should choose the way of surrendering to Iran's rights, respecting the Iranian nation and praising Iranian scientists," Rouhani said in the speech, which was aired live by state television.
"The Iranian nation has never been after a weapon of mass destruction since it does not see it as legitimate," Rouhani said. "We do not have anything on the table to submit to others except transparency," he added.
Also on Sunday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized the West for its demands that Tehran restrict its missile power, the official IRNA news agency reported.
"They expect restricting Iran's missile program while they are continuously raising military threats against Iran. Hence, such an expectation is idiotic and insane," he said.
Diplomats are expected to start drafting a final accord this week to resolve a decade-long standoff with Iran that would rescind oil and banking sanctions in return for limits on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.
The five days of scheduled talks in Vienna will be the longest round of haggling since November, when diplomats agreed to a temporary accord. The countries involved in the negotiations are trying to meet a July 20 target.
A Section on 05/12/2014