Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif gestures during an open debate at the 51st Munich Security Conference at the 'Bayerischer Hof' hotel in Munich February 8, 2015.CREDIT: REUTERS/MICHAEL DALDER[/caption]
(Reuters) - Another extension to the deadline for reaching an agreement on Iran's nuclear program is in nobody's interests, although not reaching a deal would not be "the end of the world", Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Sunday.
"I don't think if we don't have an agreement it will be the end of the world," Zarif told the Munich Security Conference, where he met U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and German, Russian and British officials. "But I do not believe another extension is in the interests of anybody as I did not believe this extension was either necessary or useful," he said, referring to the June 30 deadline for a deal to limit Iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions.
Last November,Iran, the United States, Britain,China,France,GermanyandRussiafailed to resolve their 12-year stand-off over Tehran's nuclear ambitions and gave themselves seven more months to clinch an historic deal.
Western officials said they were aiming to secure an agreement on the substance of a final accord by March but that more time would be needed to reach a consensus on the all-important technical details.
The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog is conducting an investigation into possible military dimensions ofIran's nuclear program and has urgedIranto accelerate clarification of outstanding issues.
Asked aboutIsrael's fears that Iran's nuclear program is a threat to its existence, he saidIsraelused a "hypothetical Iranian threat" as a "smokescreen" for what he called atrocities against Palestinians and others in the region.
He reiterated Iran's position that it has never sought to make nuclear weapons and would not do so.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at his weekly cabinet meeting that "world powers andIranare charging ahead to an agreement that would allowIranto arm itself with nuclear weaponry, something that would imperil the existence of the State ofIsrael".
Netanyahu said he would "take every action to thwart a bad and dangerous agreement".
By Reuters
