国际英语新闻：Iran delays nuclear talks to late August to punish West

TEHRAN, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday Iran will postpone nuclear talks with the West to late August to punish the West for imposing economic sanctions on Iran.

Ahmadinejad who was talking to a press conference in Tehran said that Iran will return to the talks on its controversial nuclear program "after the middle of Ramadan" in late August to teach the West "how to have a dialogue with other nations."

Earlier in June, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution to impose a fourth round of sanctions against Iran over its suspected nuclear program, which caused sharp reactions from Iranian officials.

By imposing sanctions on Iran, "The West wants to take upper hand (in the talks), we call this something immoral," Ahmadinejad said, adding that "because you did something immoral we will delay the talks ... to after the middle of Ramadan."

Ahmadinejad said that Tehran's decision to postpone the talks is a kind of counter measure to the West's sanction adoption and " this is a kind of fighting."

"Iran is ready to talk", but "They (the Westerners) need to learn how to behave themselves," said the Iranian president.

He further added that Iran will return to the negotiation table only "on the basis of the Tehran Declaration."

Tehran Declaration is meant to build confidence, Ahmadinejad added.

In May, Iran, Turkey and Brazil signed a joint declaration in Tehran to endorse a fuel swap according to which Iran will ship most of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for the 20 percent uranium fuel needed for its reactor.

In order for the talks to initiate, certain conditions are also to be met, he added.

The West should clarify its stance on Israeli nuclear weapons and say whether they abide by the regulations of the nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Also, in the forthcoming nuclear fuel swap talks, Iran would include Turkey and Brazil in the negotiations, Ahmadinejad said.

Asked about the impact of the UN Security Council sanction resolution against Iran, he said the sanctions are "ineffective", adding that the Iranian nation has always turned sanctions into an "opportunity" for its progress.

Earlier in the day, Ahmadinejad said in a ceremony in the city of Natanz in central Iranian province of Isfahan that "The Western and U.S. sanctions and threats are not only aimed at putting the brakes on Iran's progress in nuclear technology, but come to keep Iran from becoming an economic and industrial power ... but they are really mistaken," local satellite Press TV reported.

U.S. Congress last Thursday overwhelmingly passed the Iran sanctions bill, paving the way for the Obama administration to take unilateral sanctions on Tehran over its controversial nuclear program.

The United States, Israel and other Western countries worry that Tehran may obtain the uranium fuel needed for nuclear weapons by the same process to purify uranium. The Iranian government insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purpose.