Salehi: No reason to concern over Iran's nuclear program
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Berlin, Feb 5, IRNA -- Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi voiced Iran's readiness to respond to the worries about its nuclear program during the upcoming talks and give the assurance that there is no reason to be concerned about it.
Addressing Germany's Council of Foreign Affairs here on Monday on the last day of his visit to the country, he said as Iran's foreign minister he was ready to offer objective guarantees compatible with all legal standards and international conventions that Iran will never deviate from the peaceful purposes it is pursuing in its nuclear program.
During his speech titled "the Role of Iran in Regional Peace and Power Balance" which was attended by a large number of political figures, foreign ambassadors, representatives of political parties, experts, commentators, researchers and media managers, Salehi outlined Iran's geopolitical situation, noting that the country was virtually a bridge connecting world's most sensitive parts.
He said the Iranian tradition is basically based on peace and friendship, stressing that the main principle Iran pursued when setting its policies was the establishment of peace and security not only in the Middle East but the whole world.
Stressing that Iran's peaceful nuclear program is based on religious principles ruling the country, Salehi said that even during the years of war with the toppled Saddam regime, although Iraq used chemical weapons against Iran, Tehran never decided to make use of such weapons.
He further noted that Iran was the co-founder of the convention to ban use of chemical and biological weapons.
He said he believed the main root of existing nuclear dispute was that the parties involved in talks have lost trust in each other.
He said to same extent that the West claims is distrustful of Iran, Tehran, too, does not trust the West and that is why Iran is stressing that any proposal by them should be sincere because Tehran has already heard many lies by them.
Pointing to the proposal of the US Vice President on Washington's readiness for direct talks with Iran, he said he was optimistic that the new Obama administration is after making changes in its old policies, adding that he believed some of the people appointed into the new American government hold milder positions.
He said differences should be settled through negotiations, based on goodwill and sincerity.
He said Iran was ready to enter bilateral talks provided there are no suspicious intentions hidden behind the proposal.
Stressing that Iran was not seeking confrontations, he said Iran followed rationality and logic in its actions and believed with all the problems existing in the region there was no need for a new one.
He said Iran had no hostility with its neighboring countries and was capable of solving problems, if any, with them.
He said Iran was not seeking to destroy any nation.
Asked about claims of Iran's military assisstance to Syria, he said Iran has repeatedly made it clear that it has never rendered any military aids to the Syrian government. He then urged accusers to offer proofs for their claims.
He said Iran just offered economic aids to Syria like fuel and foodstuff including wheat and even tried to provide electricity to the country through Iraq.
Salehi reiterated that Iran believed that Damascus had to abide by the demands of its nation.
He said both parties of clashes in Syria have certainly had mistakes and should correct them through a political process.
Salehi was asked to comment about Iran's policy of not officially recognizing Israel as a state. He said every country has the right to adopt stands against other countries according to its own policies. He noted that there are other countries too which have similar positions as Iran towards Israel.
In an answer to a targeted question about Iran's denial of holocaust, he stressed that any kind of holocaust is certainly a tragedy for the whole humanity.
1424**1422
Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 1066190
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