A senior Iranian lawmaker says the new US allegation about an attempt by a man from Sierra Leone to sell yellow cake to Iran is aimed at undermining Tehran’s upcoming talks with the P5+1.

On Thursday, Western media reported that the US has arrested 33-year-old Sierra Leone national Patrick Campbell at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York over the charge of trying to sell yellow cake to Iran.

Chairman of Iran's Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi described on Saturday the new “US scenario” as a “joke.”

He argued that the Islamic Republic does not need to buy yellow cake from the citizens of other countries, noting, “Iran is among the producers of yellow cake; therefore, the claim has been designed with the aim of affecting Iran’s talks with the P5+1 group (permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) under the new administration.”

“Instead of waging a psychological war, Washington should seize the emerging opportunity in the new Iranian administration and pursue constructive dialog for putting an end to the issue of Iran’s nuclear energy program,” Boroujerdi pointed out.

Iran and the P5+1 group have held several rounds of talks on a range of issues, with the main focus being on Iran’s nuclear energy program.

The two sides wrapped up their latest round of negotiations on April 6 in Almaty, where an earlier round had been held on February 26-27.

The Islamic Republic and the P5+1 have not yet decided on a next round of negotiations; however, both sides have expressed their willingness to resume talks. In a telephone conversation on August 18, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who represents the P5+1, and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed readiness for the resumption of negotiations.

The US, Israel and some of their allies falsely claim that Iran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program, with Washington and the European Union using the unfounded allegation as a pretext to impose illegal sanctions on Iran.

Tehran strongly rejects the groundless claim over its nuclear activities, maintaining that as a committed signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes./HK