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Kharrazi says Iran determined on nuclear energy plans

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, July 2, IRNA -- Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi told Cuba`s 
President Fidel Castro in Havana that the US does not want Iran, as a 
developing country, to have access to the nuclear energy technology, 
stressing however that Tehran will remain determined on its legitimate
right to acquire the technology. 
Iran`s Foreign Ministry in a statement on Friday quoted Kharrazi 
as stressing that multilateralism should be expanded at the 
international level, and that developing countries can avert US 
unilateralism through cooperating within the Non-Aligned Movement 
(NAM). 
He further welcomed the exchange of views between Tehran and 
Havana on regional and international issues, stressing that the 
countries of the South can have a strong contribution to promoting 
the international peace and security. 
Kharrazi conveyed the warm greetings of Iran`s Supreme Leader 
Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and President Mohammad Khatami to Castro
and lauded Cuban officials for resisting the political and economic 
pressure against the country. 
"Independent nations will resist foreign attacks and pressure by 
relying on their public support to protect their independence," he 
said. 
Kharrazi described Tehran-Havana political and parliamentary 
ties as satisfactory. 
He also stressed that the Havana visit by Iran`s President 
Mohammad Khatami in 2000 and the response visit by President Castro to
Tehran in 2001 had marked a turning point in relations between the two
countries. 
Castro, for his part, said the US has made the world insecure by 
its mistakes, stressing that the world public opinion as well as the 
American people have already realized Washington`s mistakes. 
He termed Iran-Cuba ties as "very solid", and underscored the 
ignificance of sharing expertise knowledge between the two countries 
in various enterprises. 
Castro called resistance against pressure as the only option for a
nation to protect its independence. 
He also said that the common viewpoints of Iran and Cuba toward 
issues such as multilateralism could help strengthen mutual political 
relations between the two countries as well as cooperation in various 
areas. 
The Cuban leader also said Havana attaches a great significance to
strengthening the NAM and expanding the South-South cooperation, 
stressing that these are the principles that Cuba follows in its 
foreign policy. 
Castro also said that Cuba has always been pursuing the policy of 
self-sufficiency. 
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Cuban leader highlighted the need 
for Tehran and Havana to promote bilateral economic ties together with
the expansion of political ties. 
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