Mottaki: Iran nuclear rights not to be trampled upon
Iran-UN, Politics, 10/23/2007

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki yesterday sent a letter to his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner to declare that Iran is accountable to international system and it never lets its legitimate rights be trampled upon.

In his letter, Mottaki underlined that Iran is to show good-will when it sees the same from the other side. He added that imposing unilateral sanctions against Iran would bear no fruits. It is about three decades that Iran has faced sanctions mostly by the Americans or even some unofficial sanctions imposed by the Europeans, he said.

"The country's 29 years of experience indicates that imposing such sanctions only encourages us to attain self-sufficiency and make scientific and technological progress," he said. "Threat of sanctions is regarded as a reason for us to achieve self-sufficiency," he said.

"You should take this fact into consideration that Iran's great achievements in nuclear field were made due to Washington's one-sided sanctions along with undeclared sanctions imposed by the European countries," Mottaki said in the letter.

Pressure being exerted by France to toughen more one-sided sanctions against Iran and persuade the European Union to support the move, is continuation of their failed policies in the past, Mottaki said. Imposing one-sided sanctions against countries is regarded as an illegal move which runs counter to UN Charter and is indicative of the incompetency of the UN Security Council, Mottaki said.

Imposing one-sided sanctions is in total contradiction with their claims of pursuing diplomatic solutions, he said, adding "You cannot talk about dialogue while following the path of pressure and threats," Mottaki said.
Mottaki said that the US and a number of those countries possessing nuclear weapons have not remained committed to
non-proliferation of nuclear weapons while they introduce themselves as grantors of such treaties in order to divert world public opinion from their nuclear depots.

The foreign minister said those who try to persuade the UNSC to impose more unjust sanctions on Iran, prevent the same from being applied to Israel. "Fortunately, as the history shows, these few countries cannot affect wills of nations particularly those in the Middle East region," he said.

Iran has adopted very crystal clear stance in safeguarding its legitimate rights, he underlined. Mottaki said, "We believe that confidence-building should be reciprocal but we have not seen the other side do the same at least to the same extent that we have done," he said.

"Imposing more economic sanctions or other threats will not discourage our nation to quit their path," he said.
He said, "Once again I would like to express my regret over adoption of a double-standard policy by some western countries in dealing with Iran and it is regrettable that these countries are resorting to any means to impose their one-sided views." "Let's believe that in the third millennium, the era of unilateralism is over," Mottaki underlined.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said Sunday that since Ali Larijani's meeting with Javier Solana was already fixed, this round of negotiations will be attended by both Jalili and Larijani.
He made the remark in response to a question on reasons for the visit to Rome of both Larijani and Jalili to meet the European Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.
Earlier in the day, Hosseini had told reporters that Larijani would accompany the new chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, in his Tuesday meeting with Solana.

Negotiations between Iran and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are underway in Tehran on P1 and P2 centrifuges, Hosseini said on Sunday.
He told reporters that negotiations began on Saturday and will proceed until Monday. IAEA experts arrived in Tehran on Friday. The negotiations are being held at Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) in the context of an agreement signed by Iran and the agency on August 21. The two parties will hold talks in late October to resolve the outstanding issues concerning Iranian nuclear program. The outcome of the negotiations will appear in IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei's report in November. According to a timetable agreed upon by Iran and the agency, the two parties have focused on resolving six remaining issues about Iranian nuclear program including P1 and P2 centrifuges, contamination sources, document on metal uranium, polonium 210 and Gachin mine.
The agency closed the file of plutonium last month. The timetable has envisaged closure of the file of the remaining issues until the end of October.

US Vice President Dick Cheney two days ago said "we have the inescapable reality of Iran's nuclear program; a program they claim is strictly for energy purposes, but which they have worked hard to conceal; a program carried out in complete defiance of the international community and resolutions of the UN Security Council. Iran is pursuing technology that could be used to develop nuclear weapons. The world knows this. The Security Council has twice imposed sanctions on Iran and called on the regime to cease enriching uranium. Yet the regime continues to do so, and continues to practice delay and deception in an obvious attempt to buy time.
Given the nature of Iran's rulers, the declarations of the Iranian President, and the trouble the regime is causing throughout the region -- including direct involvement in the killing of Americans -- our country and the entire international community cannot stand by as a terror-supporting state fulfills its most aggressive ambitions."

He added "The Iranian regime needs to know that if it stays on its present course, the international community is prepared to impose serious consequences. The United States joins other nations in sending a clear message: We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. The irresponsible conduct of the ruling elite in Tehran is a tragedy for all Iranians. The regime has passed up numerous opportunities to be a positive force in the Middle East. For more than a generation, it had only isolated a great nation, suppressed a great people, and subjected them to economic hardship that gets worse every year."

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad on Sunday appointed Saeed Jalili as Secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and to lead the nuclear negotiations. The appointment was made after the president accepted resignation of former SNSC secretary Ali Larijani on Saturday.

Asked about this new appointment and its impact US Department Of State Spokesman Sean McCormack said yesterday " We'll see. I don't know if it will make any difference in the Iranian Government's reaction to the generous offer that's been put before it. We'll see. We still support Mr. Solana in his efforts to talk to the Iranians and try to convince them that they should meet the demands of the international community. There is a very attractive offer that is on the table for the Iranians and it really addresses, we think, one of their stated core concerns, and that is having access to civilian nuclear power. And we are prepared to talk about that as well as any other issue within the context of the P-5+1 if they just meet the demands that have been laid out for them by the Security Council. I can't tell you if this -- the appointment of this individual is going to make any difference in either the tone or the substance of the response. We'll see. Our insight to the decision-making processes of the Iranian Government is pretty limited, so I can't tell you what this portends for their position when they get together with Mr. Solana."

McCormack was asked about the letter that Mottaki sent to the French Foreign Minister. He replied "I suppose if he's taking a position -- issue with the position of the French Government, he's taking issue with the position of most of the rest of the world. And the Security Council and the IAEA Board of Governors have bent over backwards to try to accommodate stated Iranian interests, yet they continue to delay, obfuscate and defy the international community. And there are consequences for their continuing defiance of the international community. And I expect that that will take the form, at least in the Security Council, of additional sanctions. It's not our preferred course of action. We wish it -- that it were different. But that is not the case."

McCormack was also asked "what do you make of ElBaradei's recent comments that he's predicting three to eight years before Iran could acquire the bomb?" to which he replied "There are a variety of different estimates in terms of where Iran is in their progress towards developing a nuclear weapon. I think our intelligence community has their own assessments." Previous US intelligence estimates put Iran's development of a nuclear devise, assuming the Iranians are trying to do so, as needing about 10 years.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini on Sunday advised parties to nuclear talks not to misinterpret Ali Larijani's resignation. Talking to foreign and domestic reporters, Hosseini said, "The nuclear issue is a national issue toward which all walks of Iranian people are sensitive and believe it should be continued. The Iranian people consider the nuclear issue as the country's urgent, vital and essential need which should be pursued through logic, prudence and making use of legal methods so that to secure the country's national interest."

Meanwhile, Government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham said Saturday that Larijani resigned for personal reasons and that it does not mean that the policies consistent with nuclear talks would change. "It is not important what form the work will have or who the negotiator will be, the main point is that anyone who negotiates, is representative of the system and everything proceeds with in the specified direction," Elham noted.

Hosseini on Sunday announced that no change will be made in approaches and objectives of Iran's peaceful nuclear program. He said, "There is full solidarity between officials and the nation inside and outside the country in the area of objectives of Iran's peaceful nuclear activities and the activities will continue with full capacity."

Previous Stories:
  Rafsanjani: Suspension of nuclear activities unacceptable   (10/16/2007)
  Atomic agency: Iran nuclear dispute case closed   (9/14/2007)
  Iran - nuclear agency agreement   (8/27/2007)

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