Eurasia Press & News
TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Mohammad Ali Hoseini said that Russia’s proposal for enriching Iran’s uranium on her soil has never been excluded from Tehran’s working agenda.
Speaking to reporters during his weekly press conference here on Sunday, Hoseini said that the Islamic Republic officials are insistent on enriching uranium within the country, but meantime added, “Yet, other proposals such as the one offered by Russians could be placed on Tehran’s working agenda to be discussed during (nuclear) talks with the other party.”
The spokesman’s remarks followed the recent statements by the Iranian ambassador to Moscow concerning Russians’ proposal for enriching Iran’s uranium on their soil.
Meantime, Hoseini stressed that Moscow’s proposal has never been put aside.
Elsewhere, he expressed regret over the massacre of the innocent civilians in Iraq last week, and reminded that these are the oppressed Iraqi people who are obliged to pay a daily price for the United States’ unwise and improper policies.
Asked to comment on the delay in Talabani’s visit to Tehran, the Foreign Ministry spokesman mentioned the recent incidents in Iraq and the closing down of Baghdad airport as the main reasons underlying the delay, but he declined to state any specific date for the Iraqi president’s trip to Iran.
As to Iran’s nuclear case, he named the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as the best place with the required authority to verify Iran’s nuclear dossier.
Hoseini said that Iran has responded positively to an IAEA demand for sampling from the already sampled Lavizan nuclear site, and characterized the agreement as Tehran’s continued cooperation with the Agency.
IAEA Director General Mohammed ElBaradei on Friday welcomed Tehran’s recent nuclear decision and said Iran has taken steps in the right direction.
“Iran has agreed to a request by IAEA to provide access to materials related to its uranium enrichment activities,” ElBaradei said.
“I have received in recent days communications from Iran, in which it agreed to an agency request to take further environmental samples from the equipment already sampled at a technical university. It also agreed to provide access to the operating records of the pilot fuel enrichment plant,” he continued.
Regarding the current conditions in Lebanon, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman stressed that the Lebanese nation, government and groups enjoy high potentials and capabilities and that they do not need foreign countries’ sympathy and intervention.
He said that the assassination of the Lebanese industries minister has been carried out by those who do not think of Lebanon’s interests.
Questioned about a canceled visit to Tehran by Bashar al-Assad and asked if he approves of the analyses which say that the US is seeking to separate Syria from Iran and Iraq, he stressed that Syria pursues fully independent policies in its relations with Iran.
Meantime, the diplomat said that Assad’s visit to Iran will surely take place and that relevant coordination is now underway for specifying a proper date for the trip.
