[caption id="attachment_145461" align="alignright" width="129"] Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani[/caption]
Iranian lawmakers are considering a motion that would allow the country to enrich uranium to any level it wishes should the Western states impose further bans against Tehran over its nuclear program.
On Thursday, Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani said the Western countries, spearheaded by the US, are not after resolving the longstanding dispute over Tehrans nuclear program, stressing that the Islamic Republic keeps a close watch on their behavior.
Some [Iranian] lawmakers are pursuing a motion based on which Iran would enrich uranium to any level it wishes if the West moves to impose new sanctions against the Islamic Republic, Larijani said.
The top Iranian parliamentarian further called on the Westerners to seize the opportunity created by the ongoing nuclear negotiations and help close Tehrans nuclear dossier.
The comments come after reports said the new Republican-controlled US Congress is considering a new sanctions bill against Iran over its nuclear activities.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has warned that any new US sanctions against the Islamic Republiccould lead to a halt in the nuclear discussions.
Tehran and the P5+1 group of world powers -Russia, China, Britain, France, the US and Germany -are set to kick off a new round nuclear talks in Geneva, Switzerland, on January 18.
Iran and the six countries are holding intense negotiationsto narrow their differences and ink a comprehensive nuclear deal by the July 1 deadline.
The scale of Tehrans uranium enrichment and the timetable for the lifting of anti-Iran sanctions are seen as major sticking points in the closed-doordiscussions.