Abnormalities Seem to Be Normal with Americans

Abnormalities Seem to Be Normal with Americans

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman said in reaction to the US boycott of Iran’s Bank Saderat that resorting to abnormal measures has apparently turned routine for the Americans, and further advised US officials that they can never affect Iran’s policies through such measures.

Speaking during his last weekly press conference as the Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Hamid Reza Asefi said here on Sunday that Americans are in deep mistake “and we believe that imposing restrictions on Bank Saderat Iran is just another childish behavior by the US, which would produce no result for them.”

“Americans proved that they resort to any kind of tools and levers to exercise their wrong policies,” the spokesman pointed out, describing the measure as unacceptable.

Asked about the contradictory statements by Russian officials about Iran’s nuclear issue and if the nuclear case has come to a standstill, he reminded, “We do not see any deadlock in the case, Iran’s nuclear activities are transparent, open and free from ambiguities.”

Noting Tehran’s contacts with different world capitals, including the talks between Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and Spanish and Italian officials, he stated, “Officials of the said two states and the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan have stressed their strong belief in solving the issue through negotiations.”

Reiterating that Iran’s nuclear issue could be directed in just a couple of paths, he said, “One way passes through talks and mutual understanding, while the other one ends up in the UN Security Council. Once the latter is adopted, Europeans will have to grapple with its negative consequences.”

Deputy Foreign Minister for Parliamentary Affairs further stated, “Russians and Chinese have officially announced that they only believe in talks as the only way to solve the issue.”

Describing the Saturday talks between Iran’s Chief Nuclear Negotiator Ali Larijani and EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana as positive and constructive, he said such negotiations are aimed at converging the two sides’ view points.

“At present Solana is provided with a good opportunity which he can take advantage of, depending on his sense of appreciation of time, his possibilities, and his expert views away from all the political motives at work,” he continued.

The diplomat expressed the hope that Solana-Larijani talks which are continued also on Sunday would yield fruits desirable to both parties.

Asked why the group P5+1 has now turned into the group 9, The Foreign Ministry Spokesman said Iran is inclined to attend negotiations with all parties and that’s why it does not see any problem in the addition of Canada, Japan and Italy to the group 5+1, stressing that the Europeans can still add up to the number of states on their side and that Tehran does not perceive any problem in the increase in the number of the participant states in Iran-West nuclear talks.

“We are presently having separate negotiations with both European and non-European countries, including China, Russia and the member states of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and the only thing which matters to us is continuing negotiations until achievement of desirable results,” he asserted.

He also stated that many European countries have voiced support for Iran’s nuclear stances.

“Many EU states have not only approved of Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities, but also voiced support for our programs and activities in the domain of the nuclear technology.”

Asked if Iran would concede to suspending its uranium enrichment activities for short and temporary periods of time, Asefi underscored, “Tehran may not accept even a short-term suspension of its enrichment activities, the issue with suspension belongs to the past.”

“We do not return to the past, and the issue of suspension does not constitute the context of the nuclear talks,” he added.

Meantime, the diplomat stressed that if the European party has any points to make about the suspension of Iran’s nuclear activities, Tehran is prepared to examine such views in the course of nuclear talks.

“Yet, such talks must be free from any kind of prerequisite,” he underlined.

He said that it is not merely the European side which is in search of some results, “we have some questions to raise with the Europeans.”

Asefi said that nuclear talks should comprise different issues and topics, including Tehran’s questions from the other party, stressing that suspension of Iran’s enrichment activities should not and does not the core topic of the nuclear negotiations.

The Foreign Ministry Spokesman reiterated that Tehran may never accept any preconditions for attending nuclear talks with the west, and called on reporters to wait for the results of the second round of Larijani-Solana talks underway today.