Mutual Understanding Postponed by UNSC Option

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Mohammad Ali Hoseini said the 5+1 choice of dealing with Iran’s nuclear issue via the UN Security Council is inappropriate and delays attainment of mutual understanding and agreement by the two sides. 

Speaking to reporters during his weekly press conference here on Sunday, Hoseini reminded that Iran has stressed the need for the resumption of talks and exclusion of the case from the UNSC working agenda.

He also warned that his country would reciprocate any UNSC resolution against Iran, saying that the type and intensity of the said reaction by the Islamic Republic will depend on the content and nature of the likely sanctions.

Asked if the maneuvers staged by Iran and the US should be considered as a cold war between Tehran and Washington, Hoseini quoted a recent statement released by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) describing the war games as a preplanned program in the IRGC calendar.

“The second phase of the maneuvers codenamed the Great Prophet is not considered as a threat to any country, rather it is aimed to reinvigorate Iran’s power of deterrence,” he continued.

Asked why Iran’s lawsuit has not yet been raised during the trial of the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein while the court is about to issue its verdict today, the Foreign Ministry Spokesman said that the Islamic Republic has already lodged its compliant in this regard, and that the Iraqi officials have promised to consider the lawsuit, “but not in the present court”.

“They have announced that the present court is not qualified to judge on the case and that the issue must be verified at a separate court,” he added.

Elsewhere, he referred to Iran’s nuclear issue, and stressed that Tehran believes suspension of nuclear enrichment activities would be a completely irrational move.

“We do not perceive any rationale for suspending our uranium enrichment activities,” Hoseini reiterated.

Asked about any possibility for Iran-US direct talks on Iraq, the diplomat also said that his country would study any official request for holding talks with the US on regional issues.

He also said that the Belarusian President is scheduled to arrive in Tehran tonight.

The Foreign Ministry Spokesman also informed of an upcoming visit to Tehran by the Iraqi President Jalal Talibani, but spared the details.