Iran rejects call by Saudi, Qatar to join nuclear talks

Qatar and Saudi Arabia's call to join the nuclear talks between Iran and the world major powers is "irrelevant," the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham was quoted as saying by local media on Wednesday. Afkham rejected the idea that the Arab states should be given a seat at the nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 group, the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China plus Germany, Tehran Times daily reported. She described such remarks as "irrelevant," saying that the mechanisms for resolving the nuclear dispute between Iran and the powers are clear enough. Qatari foreign minister and Saudi Arabia's former intelligence chief said earlier this week that "Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) must be part of the negotiations between major world powers and Iran," according to the report. Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the chairman of Iran's Majlis (Parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, also said the presence of the Arab states in the talks between Iran and the P5+1 group is "out of question," according to Tehran Times. Iran and the P5+1 group struck a deal in Geneva on Nov. 24, in which Iran agreed to freeze part of its nuclear program in exchange for limited ease of sanctions which have hurt its economy. Some Arab states in the littoral Persian Gulf have taken cautious stance about results of the deal.