Nuclear Deal Will Benefit Everyone, Says Dehqani
New York – Iranian ambassador to the United Nations HosseinDehqani said that a comprehensive deal with Iran on the nuclear issue will benefit everyone.
Dehqani made the remarks in an address to a UN General Assembly. Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Yukiya Amano was present in the session.
Referring to the growing need for energy across the globe and environmental threats posed to the world by fossil fuels, Dehqani underlined safety of nuclear power in the modern world.
Dehqani noted that based on IAEA Charter, the UN nuclear agency is responsible to help the member states develop nuclear capability for peaceful means.
He said that the rights of the signatory states to the Non-Proliferation Treaty to technical and economic development have to be respected.
The Iranian envoy rejected alleged military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program, saying that Iran has no weapons program.
He said that the allegations have been made without any acceptable evidence. However, he said that the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of the good faith will continue cooperation with the UN nuclear agency to remove any ambiguity about the nuclear program.
Dehqani made clear that as repeatedly stated by senior Iranian officials, areas associated with national security such as defensive capabilities will never be subject to negotiations at any level.
Iran Nuclear Talks Unaffected by US Senate Elections – Minister
Meanwhile in Tehran,Senior Iranian cabinet officials said the recent US Senate elections which ended with the Republicans’ victory will have no significant impact on the nuclear talks between Tehran and the world powers.
“The victory of the Republicans in the US Senate elections will not leave any effect on the nuclear negotiations,” Iranian Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi told reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Wednesday.
Stressing that the Iranian negotiators have completely respected the country’s redlines in the nuclear talks with their counterparts from the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany), he said, “There is no behind-the-stage agreement with the G5+1.”
The minister also added that some major steps have so far been taken in the negotiations between Iran and the sextet.
Prior to Vaezi, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Office for Political Affairs Hamid Aboutalebi also expressed the same view, stressing that Washington knows that Iran is playing a vital and irreplaceable role in the region and both the Democratic and the Republican parties know that the US is in need of striking a final nuclear deal with Tehran.
“Now, both US parties need Iran for the 2016 presidential election, specially the Republicans who are trying to create a change in the foreign policy,” Aboutalebi wrote on his tweeter page on Wednesday.
“Therefore, both US parties will be after reaching a nuclear agreement with Iran and strategic cooperation with Iran in regional issues, specially in fighting ISIL,” he added.
Yet, the presidential aide underlined that Washington is required to respect the Iranian nation’s rights, admit Iran’s regional power and accept the country as the main actor in the regional interactions if it wants Tehran’s cooperation.
Tehran and the six powers have already held seven rounds of talks in Vienna, and one more round in New York and on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. They are now preparing for their 9th round of negotiations due to be held in Masqat, Oman, on November 11.
The Geneva agreement took effect on January 20 and expired six months later on July 20. In July, Tehran and the six countries agreed to extend negotiations until November 24 after they failed to reach an agreement on a number of key issues.
IRNA, FNA
R.S