Turkey backs Iran, restates diplomacy

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=123852§ionid=351020104


Turkey says that it has always supported Iran's stance on its nuclear issue and has reemphasized that any coercive measure against Tehran would prove ineffective.

"Turkey has always supported Iran's stance when it comes to the nuclear program," said visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglo in a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki on Tuesday.

The Turkish official rejected any punitive measures against Iran, saying that the Iranian nuclear issue could best be resolved through diplomatic means.

"We need to resort to diplomatic means to solve the problem and military means, attacks, sanctions or embargoes will not be fruitful," he stated, adding that all nations are entitled to peaceful nuclear energy, but atomic weapons have no place in the world.

"Having access to nuclear energy is the right of all nations but we need to oppose atomic weapons no matter where they are in the world because they endanger the future of mankind and they would create problems."

On a UN-backed deal that would provide fuel for Tehran's research reactor, the top diplomat said that Turkey would be willing to act as a mediator and Ankara would "do its best" to see what it could do for the fuel swap.

Turning to economic cooperation, Davutoglo said that energy cooperation between Iran and Turkey is ongoing and that he hoped it would increase in the near future.

Mottaki, for his part, hailed the growing economic relations between Tehran and Ankara, saying that he hoped the volume of bilateral trade would rise to $20 billion.

Regarding the fuel swap, Mottaki said that it still stands and could act as a "confidence-building" measure for both Iran and the other side.

He added that Iran would stick to its "logical stance" on its nuclear energy program.

Russia, China urge diplomacy on Iran nuclear case

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122215§ionid=351020104


As the US and its allies push for another round of sanctions against Iran at the United Nations Security Council, Russia and China have again voiced their dissent.

Earlier in Moscow today, Russia's foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko reaffirmed Russia's commitment to finding a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear dispute with the West, reported The Voice of Russia.

He further said that sanctions could occasionally be appropriate, but insisted that such measures should be well thought-out, intelligent and not hinder further dialogue.

Separately, in China, where Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili is on a visit, the foreign ministry's spokesman official spokesman Qin Gang said Beijing would seek a peaceful solution to the Iranian nuclear issue.

He further said that while China opposed nuclear proliferation, it defended Tehran's right to develop civil nuclear energy.

Qin Gang declined to comment on claims that the US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice that Beijing is ready to discuss sanctions against Tehran.

In a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Iran's top nuclear negotiator said the West's efforts to prevent certain countries from acquiring nuclear technology could put global security in danger.

Jalili stressed that a full commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by all countries was the best way to ensure peace and stability in the world.

Certain Western governments, led by the US, have accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons capability and have imposed sanctions in an effort to force Tehran to stop its enrichment activities.

However, Iran counters that, as a longstanding signatory to the NPT, it has the right to possess full nuclear fuel cycle, insisting that the production of nuclear weapons has no place in its policy.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has carried out intrusive inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities for years, and has announced that there is no evidence of diversion of nuclear material from civilian to military applications.

China to continue diplomacy over Iran

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122188§ionid=351020404


Amid US-led efforts for fresh sanctions against Tehran, China said Thursday that it would continue to work towards a "peaceful resolution" of the Iranian nuclear case.

"On the Iranian nuclear issue, China will continue to endeavor toward a peaceful resolution," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters.

"We have always and will continue to push for a peaceful settlement of this issue," Qin said, adding that the standoff should be resolved by "diplomatic means".

Qin's remarks come as US ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said Wednesday that "China has agreed to sit down and begin serious negotiations" over imposing fresh sanctions against Iran.

The US, which accuses Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, has been lobbying for more UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions against Tehran.

US-led calls have, however, received a chilly reception mainly from China, one of the five veto-wielding members of the UNSC, which insists that diplomacy can still work to solve the Iranian nuclear issue.

Iran says any punitive measures against the country are legally baseless as Tehran's peaceful nuclear energy program is being fully monitored by UN nuclear watchdog, IAEA.

This comes as Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili is now in China to discuss with Chinese officials a range of issues, with Tehran's nuclear work high on the agenda.

US rejects EU diplomacy over Iran N program

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118082§ionid=351020104


Leading US senators Joseph Lieberman and John Kerry inveigh against a top EU official for supporting further diplomatic talks with Iran over its nuclear program.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, the two US officials criticized the European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashto who threw her lot with more dialogue over Iran's nuclear program.

The two went on to claim that Iran has been 'explicitly dishonest' over its uranium enrichment and thus does not deserve further dialogue, or diplomacy for that matter.

"Iran comes to the international conference like this and talks in a way that is simply dishonest," said Lieberman, who chairs the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs and is known for his pro-Israeli stance on international issues.

Rather than dealing with Iran through diplomatic negotiations, Lieberman asserted that the US should try to deal with the Tehran government through other means.

"Dialogues have being going on for last six years, (and) there are always dialogues," he said. "But the Iranians do not take the chance. I think it simply has to get a tougher economic sanction if any kind of diplomacy is over, and military will never be necessary."

His remarks were instantly backed by John Kerry, the former US presidential candidate who now heads the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee.

"We are united in the congress, senate house, the administration and with our allies here in Europe," said Kerry.

This comes as Iran is trying to find a middle ground with the West in swapping its low-enriched uranium with more refined nuclear material for the Tehran research reactor.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki expressed hop on Saturday that an agreement on the nuclear fuel proposal will soon be reached with the Western side, but with the changes that Tehran seeks.

His remarks were largely ignored by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates who has instead insisted on the imposition of fresh sanctions on the country.

Washington accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons and has for years levied sanctions and threatened the country with war scenarios to force the Tehran government into halting its nuclear activities.

Iran which has been under various US sanctions after the Islamic Revolution toppled a US-backed monarch in 1979 rejects the accusations as politically motivated.

Iran's nuclear program was launched in the 1950s with the help of the United States as part of the Atoms for Peace program. After the 1979 Revolution, Western companies working on Iran's program refused to fulfill their obligations even though they had been paid in full.

Iran is a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and, unlike some of its regional neighbors, has opened its enrichment plants to UN inspection.

Erdogan backs Iran's nuclear work, rejects arms

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=116124§ionid=351020204


Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has thrown his weight behind Iran despite recent threats by Washington for new sanctions against Tehran.

Speaking at the State University of Moscow on Wednesday, Erdogan called for fair and just treatment of Tehran regarding its nuclear program and expressed his disapproval of the blatantly unchecked possession of nuclear arms by some 'other' countries in the region.

"We do not want nuclear weapons in our region. But it would be unfair to ask one country not to obtain nuclear weapons while another country in the region already has them," the Turkish 'Zaman' daily quoted Erdogan as saying.

In an indirect reference to Israel's nuclear arsenal, the Turkish prime minister criticized the dual stance of major powers on Iran's nuclear issue, calling for a diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff.

“If those who have the power do not act in a just manner, then the world will be a place where right and wrong are not distinguishable. There will be no global peace in such a world,” he said.

Israel and its staunch ally, the United States, have been accusing the Islamic Republic of pursuing military applications under the guise of a civilian nuclear program, a claim vehemently rejected by Iran.

Iran says its nuclear work is totally peaceful and under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Erdogan's remarks come in the wake of a diplomatic feud between Turkey and Israel, following Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalonan "undiplomatic behavior," which included forcing Turkish Ambassador Ahmet Oguz Celikkol to sit on a lower seat and refusing to shake his hand.

Turkey has officially announced its opposition to the proliferation of nuclear weapons by any country, particularly Israel, calling on the international community to force the country to dismantle its nuclear weapons.

Tel Aviv is in possession of over 200 nuclear war heads, although it has never openly acknowledged this. Israel's nuclear arms are believed to be the major threat to the Middle East region.

Washington Talks War Amid Iran Diplomacy

Source: PressTV

The Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff has said that the clock is now running for Iran to respond to a draft deal over the delivery of nuclear fuel to Iran.

Mike Mullen expressed concern over Iran's response to UN-backed proposal, which was first floated by the Obama administration. The offer requires Iran to send most of its domestically-enriched uranium out of the country for further refinement.

Mullen said while he supports the aforementioned offer, he would rather have plans for a military strike on Iran, whether by Israel or the United States, as a last resort.

"I grow increasingly concerned that the Iranians have been non-responsive. I've said for a long time we don't need another conflict in that part of the world," said the top US military officer.

"I'm not predicting that would happen, but I think they've got to get to a position where they are a constructive force and not a destabilizing force," he added.

Iran however has not accepted the proposal, calling for "concrete guarantees" for the return of its fuel as some Western countries' have previously failed to adhere to their nuclear commitments with regards to Tehran.

The US has refused to consider Iran's concerns and insists the draft deal is “unchangeable.”

The Islamic Republic has put forth a counter-proposal suggesting that 400 kilograms of 3.5 percent enriched uranium be taken to the Island of Kish for a simultaneous swap with an amount equivalent to 20 percent of the original batch

Iran needs the fuel for its Tehran Research Reactor that produces radioisotopes used in cancer treatment by over 200 hospitals in the country.

Washington and a number of European countries say "they have suspicions" about Iran's nuclear plans, accusing the country of attempting to develop nuclear weapons.

Iran, which is a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty unlike some of its regional neighbors, has categorically dismissed the accusations, saying its plans aim to generate electricity for a growing population.

In a Friday press conference on the sidelines of UN Climate talks in Copenhagen, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that attempts to link nuclear technology to nuclear bombs is a pretext used by certain states that wish to dominate the world.

"If we consider nuclear technology as equal to nuclear bombs, we will be depriving human beings of its [technological] benefits," said Ahmadinejad, adding that those who tie the two concepts together are countries which both "own a nuclear bomb and use nuclear energy."