Western position on Iran described as illogical
Iran-UN, Politics, 3/6/2007

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Iran's nuclear issue was discussed over lunch yesterday by the EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

"Till now there has been no signs of conciliation from Iran. The Security Council has expectations from Iran which have not been met," Steinmeir, whose country holds the current EU Presidency, told a press conference.

He said consultations are continuing whether to hold another SC meeting on Iran and to pass another resolution. "Our view in Europe is to hold the line on our expectations from the Iranians on the offer that we made to Iran to see if there is any prospect of success," he said.

On his part, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said "we want very much to continue working on the double track." We will continue working on the UN Security Council but at the same time "we offer the door open for negotiations always to Iran," he said.

IAEA Chief said on first day of UN nuclear watchdog Board of Governors' regular seasonal session that the agency has found "no strong reason" for Iran's deviation from peaceful nuclear activities. Mohamed ElBaradei made the comment in his comprehensive report to the Board of Governors on Iran, adding that there are still ambiguities about two decades of Iran's nuclear activities.

ElBaradei in his report asked Iran to further clarify the remaining "trivial ambiguities" to enable the agency to come up with a clear stand on the country's nuclear activities.

Iran's envoy to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ali-Asghar Soltanieh said yesterday that the United Nations Security Council should stop interfering in Iran's nuclear program. Soltanieh said that according to report of IAEA, the IAEA is the specialized agency of the United Nations and as an independent and technical organ of the international community that should examine the Iranian nuclear issue. Therefore, it does not fall within jurisdiction of the the Security Council to examine or make decision on Iranian nuclear program.

Turning to the fact that the IAEA has never been weakened to this extent, he said, "The international community is aware that the UNSC interference in the issue will weaken the UN watchdog more than ever. "As we have repeatedly said, Iran is prepared to solve the outstanding minor points and that returning Iranian nuclear case to the IAEA is the only way to this end."

Soltanieh said those who thought Iran will give up its legitimate rights if Iran's nuclear program were referred to the Security Council should understand the extent of their mistake. "Therefore, those seeking to confront Iran on such a pretext should also get the message," he added.

Underlining that Iran's nuclear case should be returned to where it belongs, he noted, "According to ElBaradei's report to the Board of Governors Monday, the issue may only be solved through talks, which is what we are saying."

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki yesterday recommended Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency to defend the agency's findings on Iranian nuclear program. He said that Iran is committed to criteria of the IAEA and Iranian nuclear program should be examined by the specialized agency of the United Nations rather than the Security Council.

Asked about different proposals to help resolve the dispute between Iran and the Western nations on Iran's nuclear program, he said that Iran would study the proposals. He hoped that constructive negotiations would be held between Iran and the parties involved in the dispute to leave behind the current stand-off on Iranian nuclear program. Responding to a question on possibility of talks between Iran and the US, the Iranian minister said, "If the US presents a formal proposal, we will consider it."

Former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Hans Blix says that demands made on Iran to unconditionally suspend its enrichment programme are beyond commonsense.
"It is illogical to ask Iran to suspend its enrichment programme before any diplomatic negotiations take place about the conditions for the suspension," said Blix, who now chairs the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission.

In the foreword to a new report exposing the fallacies of threatening attacks on Iran's installations, he said that he fully agreed with the conclusions that the consequences would be "disastrous and counterproductive." "It is time for serious talk - not for humiliating preconditions," said the former IAEA chief, who was also the UN's top arms inspector for Iraq.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said Sunday that trend of talks on Iran's peaceful nuclear case has not reached a deadlock. He added, "A logical solution based on regulations can be achieved to the case through negotiations." In response to a question on whether he had any recommendations to the Monday meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors, the spokesman said, "The solution to this case is negotiation and everything else will make the case more complicated."

Previous Stories:
  Talks on Iran's peaceful nuclear program in London   (2/26/2007)
  Iran: Nuclear talks should be in framework of IAEA   (2/21/2007)
  Iran rallies support nuclear energy   (2/11/2007)

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