Eurasia Press & News
TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Iran’s Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, in a meeting with Germany’s incoming ambassador to Tehran here on Wednesday, voiced displeasure at increased pressures exerted by the US and the West on the Islamic Republic.
During the meeting, Rafsanjani expressed surprise at Germany’s stances in the face of Iran, given the Islamic Republic’s age-old and progressive ties with Germany in comparison with other European states.
He also defined extremist moves towards Iran as unjustifiable, and voiced surprise at the restrictions placed by Germany on ties with Iran in banking, insurance, investment, technical and cultural grounds, which he said are not at all related to the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1737 against the Islamic Republic.
Regarding the nuclear issue of his country, Rafsanjani viewed prerequisite-based talks as unconstructive and a blunder by the counterparty, which has distorted the positive atmosphere dominating the two sides’ negotiations and hurt the Iranian nation’s pride.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons and this is a reality that western countries, specially the US, should realize,” he underlined.
The official further expressed regret that Americans are still pursuing their miscalculated plans, and described prerequisite-free negotiations as the proper way of solving the existing problems, reminding that tension does not serve the interests of either side.
“Restoration of calm in the region serves the interests of not just Iran, but all the other regional and world countries, and Tehran’s cooperation with regional and western countries in solving regional issues, including those of Afghanistan and Iraq, illustrates Iran’s efforts to help establish peace and tranquility,” he pointed out.
Rafsanjani also stated Iran’s’ preparedness to build international confidence in its resolve to remove misunderstandings.
He also reminded the German envoy that Iran came to the conclusion that it should reach self-sufficiency in producing civilian nuclear energy through a home grown technology and science only after Germans refrained from continuing their cooperation with the Islamic Republic in completing the nuclear power plant project in Bushehr.
For his part, Germany’s new ambassador to Tehran noted the two countries’ good relations, and said, “When I compare my today’s meeting with my first visit to Iran right after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, I find out that the Islamic Republic is still pursuing its principled stances while our meeting today also proved that the problems can be solved through talks.”
He further stated that his country shares Iranians’ feeling of dissatisfaction with the ratification of UN Security Council Resolution 1737, and stressed, “Since the very beginning of the issue, we have always endorsed Iran’s right to access and use peaceful nuclear energy and we are close to the Iranians as far as contents of the issue are concerned.”
Describing Iran as a strategically important country in the region, the envoy said that Germany believes the nuclear issue can be resolved only through the resumption of talks, and concluded, “To do so, we believe that building mutual confidence is completely essential.”
