TOKYO – Visiting Iranian Vice President Isfandiar Rahim Mashaee said Wednesday that Iran was still considering a Western incentives package offered to Iran in exchange for suspending uranium enrichment, a news report said.
But Mashaee also accused the West of "using pressure, not dialogue, to try to deny Iran its rights" during a meeting with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Aso, Kyodo News agency reported.
Mashaee's remarks came after Iran's ambassador to the U.N. said Monday a U.N. resolution calling for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment by Aug. 31 or face the threat of economic and diplomatic sanctions would make negotiations more difficult on the incentives package.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday denounced the resolution, which was adopted Monday, telling a crowd in northeastern Iran that Tehran would not give in to the threats.
Tehran has denied allegations by the U.S. that it seeks nuclear weapons, and maintains its program is peaceful and aimed at generating electricity.
Foreign Ministry officials said they did not know what was discussed at the meeting and could not immediately confirm the report.
Mashaee arrived in Japan on Monday for a four-day visit and met Aso on Wednesday afternoon, according to a ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing policy.
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