In his monthly press conference Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said that he is optimistic about the nuclear talks with Europe despite the slow progress of the talks. He added that Europe has to pay a high price if it takes a politically-motivated decision under US pressure. On the make-up of the 7th Iranian Parliament, Khatami said that "we hope that what happened in the 7th Parliament will never occur. For the recent parliamentary elections were not fair and the final composition of the parliament is now very hard to challenge."
He added that the Parliament's views toward next year's budget bill are in contrast with those of the administration emphasizing that 'by the way the administration is obliged to carry out the Parliament's ratification.' In response to the question as how history will remember Khatami, the president said: "I don't know. But I expect it to be a fair judgment. I have always sought a popular rule and I could guess from the very beginning that certain elements would oppose this objective of mine. However during 8 years of office, I have realized the strength of the opposition I am facing."