FM: Iran in Post N. Era

TEHRAN (FNA)- April 10, 2009

 Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that Tehran's nuclear issue is a closed case and that the country is now in the post-nuclear era.

"We are in the post-nuclear era," Mottaki said in a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart Walled al-Muallem here in Tehran Wednesday.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced on Wednesday that his country views the nuclear issue as a "closed case".

"Today we consider the nuclear issue a closed case for the Iranian nation," Ahmadinejad said, addressing a large and fervent congregation of local people in the central province of Isfahan.

Elsewhere during the press conference, Mottaki underlined the need for the dismantlement of nuclear weapons, saying, "The world should prepare itself to destroy the existing nuclear weapons in the world."

"We should persuade countries into using clean nuclear energy and destroy nuclear weapons in the world," Mottaki reiterated.

Asked if Iran would accept negotiations with the US, Mottaki said that the Iranian officials closely follow remarks made by the senior US officials.

"Our clear response will be announced after studying (conditions)," the Iranian foreign minster stated.

Reminding the remarks by Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolutions Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei on the issue, Mottaki added, "The Leader announced the frameworks of our interaction and reaction. We believe that the US officials must study this general framework precisely."

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, in a televised speech to mark the Iranian New Year, called for a real change in Washington's attitude towards Tehran, saying that the US has shown no practical change in its hostile policies on Iran.

Obama, in an attempt to soften Washington's harsh tone on Iran, recently called on the international community to respect Tehran's sovereignty in their efforts to deal with Tehran's nuclear program, but meantime, claimed Iran is pursuing a military nuclear drive.

"There should be a mechanism that respects Iran's sovereignty and allows them to develop peaceful nuclear energy but draws a clear line that we cannot have nuclear arms race in the Middle East," he said, speaking to reporters during a joint news conference with his French counterpart Nicholas Sarkozy last Friday.

Analyst: Enemies Admit Defeat in Iran's N. Issue

TEHRAN (FNA)- April 10, 2009

Head of the Presidential Strategic Studies Center Ali Reza Zaker Isfahani said on Wednesday that enemies of Iran have given in to the Islamic Republic and accepted the country's nuclear realities.

"Fortunately, revolutionary steps of the Iranian people pave the ground for the enemies' failure as well as acceptance of Iran's nuclear realities," Zaker Isfahani stated.

He underlined that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government could break the dominating international order by following the Late Imam Khomeini's path, adding, "This has led to the acceptance of Iran's nuclear energy right by the new US president, Barack Obama."

Meantime, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced on Wednesday that his country views the nuclear issue as a "closed case".

"Today we consider the nuclear issue a closed case for the Iranian nation," Ahmadinejad said, addressing a large and fervent congregation of local people in the central province of Isfahan.

Obama, in an attempt to soften Washington's harsh tone on Iran, recently called on the international community to respect Tehran's sovereignty in their efforts to deal with Tehran's nuclear program, but meantime, claimed Iran is pursuing a military nuclear drive.

"There should be a mechanism that respects Iran's sovereignty and allows them to develop peaceful nuclear energy but draws a clear line that we cannot have nuclear arms race in the Middle East," he said, speaking to reporters during a joint news conference with his French counterpart Nicholas Sarkozy last Friday.

The United States, Russia, China, France, Britain plus Germany, in a statement after a meeting of senior diplomats in London on Wednesday, announced that they would ask European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana to invite Tehran to the talks to find "a diplomatic solution to this critical issue".

"We strongly urge Iran to take advantage of this opportunity to engage seriously with all of us in a spirit of mutual respect," the six powers said in a statement.

Iran, for its part, said that it would review offer of talks made by the Group 5+1, the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany..

"We will review it and then decide about it," Ali Akbar Javanfekr, a senior adviser to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said on Thursday.

Lavrov: Iran N. Program No Threat

TEHRAN (FNA)- April 10, 2009

Russia's foreign minister Thursday underlined that there is no evidence that Iran's nuclear program has military goals, and rejected claims that the US needs to install missile inceptors in Europe due to Iran's advancement in nuclear missile technology.

"So far there is no evidence that the program has military goals. Although several countries and the IAEA (the UN nuclear watchdog) have questions that Iran needs to clarify," Sergei Lavrov said in a live interview with RIA Novosti, the Voice of Russia radio and the Russia Today TV channel.

The United States and its staunch ally Israel accuse Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, while they have never presented any corroborative document to substantiate their allegations. Both Washington and Tel Aviv possess advanced weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear warheads.

Lavrov further dismissed speculation about a link between Russia-US differences on Washington's missile defense plans for Europe and Iranian nuclear program, and said, "Iran is a separate problem. This problem is first and foremost a problem of ensuring that the non-proliferation regime is not being violated."

Western media last month cited unnamed senior officials in Washington saying that President Barack Obama could drop the plans to place a missile shield in Central Europe if Russia helps to persuade Iran to halt uranium enrichment activities.

The former US administration was pursuing a plan to install 10 missile interceptors in Poland and related radar stations in the Czech Republic, mainly as a move to counter what it claimed Iran's missile threat.

Also earlier on Tuesday, Russia's Ambassador to the US Sergei Kislyak strongly criticized Washington's plan to install missile inceptors in Europe, and dismissed the raison d'être for the US move, saying that Iran threat is just a myth.

Elsewhere, Lavrov welcomed the decision reached in London on Wednesday by the six countries negotiating the Iranian nuclear problem to carry on talks with Iran, as well as Obama's pledge of greater engagement in negotiations than his predecessor.

The United States, Russia, China, France, Britain plus Germany, in a statement after a meeting of senior diplomats in London on Wednesday, announced that they would ask European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana to invite Tehran to the talks to find "a diplomatic solution to this critical issue".

"We strongly urge Iran to take advantage of this opportunity to engage seriously with all of us in a spirit of mutual respect," the six powers said in a statement.