Iran says peaceful nuke, defence capabilities irremovable options

Tehran, Feb 13 A top Iranian security official said on Saturday that maintaining and expanding the country's peaceful nuclear and defence capabilities are "options that are never removed from the table."

Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), made the remarks in a tweet a day after millions of Iran celebrated the 43rd anniversary of the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Xinhua news agency reported.

The irremovable options included "glorious presence of Iran in ceremonies in support of the Islamic establishment, maintaining and strengthening Iran's peaceful nuclear capacities and defense capabilities, (as well as) regional security-making policies of Islamic Republic," he tweeted.

The comments came at a time when envoys from Iran and other parties are engaged in negotiations in the Austrian capital of Vienna to restore a 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

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