Iran Seeking Membership in UNSC

TEHRAN (FNA) Iran seeks to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini said.

Speaking to reporters during his weekly press conference here on Sunday, Hosseini said that Tehran has applied for candidacy for the years 2009 and 2010, and pointed out that a similar demand has been raised by another country.

Iran’s request for membership in the Security Council should be put to vote at the next meeting of the UN General Assembly.

Hosseini dismissed speculations that Iran’s demand for becoming a UNSC member was in anyway related to Libya’s presidency over the Council.

Asked about the date of the next meeting between Iran and the US over Iraq’s security, he reminded Tehran’s positive view about the talks. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is not opposed to the talks. We have announced our views to the Iraqi side and are waiting for their response.”

Elaborating on the said views, the spokesman said Tehran has notified the Iraqi side of its concerns about the United States’ loyalty to the result of talks as the first and most important consideration for the Islamic Republic.

Regarding, Iran-US ties, the diplomat stressed that his country has no immediate plans to normalize relations with the United States.

“Given the continuation of the hostile policies of the United States against Iran, we have no plans for the normalization of relations with America. This issue is not on our agenda,” Hosseini said.

Asked to comment on an upcoming visit to the region by US President George W Bush, he said that the US officials seek to make up for their past failures through their numerous trips to the region.

“Despite all the opposition shown in this regard, the US authorities are striving to accelerate the pace of compromise in the region,” he added.

Hosseini reminded that as confessed by George Bush himself, visits to the region by the US officials, including the upcoming trip by the US president, are aimed at interfering in the domestic affairs of regional states.

He also noted a recent statement by the US State Department advising foreign nationals not to travel to Iran, and said that it served as a part of the Untied States’ psychological warfare against the Islamic Republic.

“The statement was issued in compliance with Washington’s poisonous propaganda against Tehran,” Hosseini said, mentioning that all Iranian and non-Iranian nationals who have visited the country so far found a different impression about Iran and left the country with a pleasant memory.

Asked about a reported meeting between advisor to the Supreme Leader for International Affairs Al-Akbar Velayati and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the spokesman confirmed that the meeting had happened three months ago, but declined to give any further details about the two sides’ discussions.

Elsewhere, Hosseini confirmed reports about the expulsion of a German diplomat from Iran, saying that the Islamic Republic authorities had come to the conclusion that the German diplomat had conducted “undiplomatic” behavior.

Hosseini didn’t name the diplomat and gave no additional information in this regard.