Iran slams Saudi, Egypt remarks on nuclear issue

Sat Dec 19, 2009 | 13:51

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has reacted to remarks by his Egyptian and Saudi counterparts over the country's nuclear program.

Last week in a press conference in Manama, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit expressed concern over Iran's nuclear dispute with the West.

"Iran is a co-signer of the [Nuclear] Non-Proliferation Treaty and has the right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, but we tell Tehran from the [Persian] Gulf that they need to be cautious about not losing the international community's confidence through its actions," he said.

"When there are suggestions that the [Iranian nuclear] program could be of a military nature we find that to be deeply concerning because the Middle East will fail in its endeavor to be a nuclear and weapons of mass destruction free-zone," he added.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Mottaki reacted to the comments, saying it was unlikely that the remarks were made by the Egyptian officials, but if true, Cairo had better think twice over its stands.

"If these remarks are found to be true, we advise [our] Egyptian friends to deliberate … on their remarks, as such stances are not to the interest of Islamic and Arab countries," he said, adding that it was Israel, with 200 nuclear warheads in its possession, not Iran that posed a "real threat" to the region.

Mottaki also reacted to remarks by his Saudi counterpart, Saud al-Faisal, who had said in a recent interview with International Herald Tribune that he was "suspicious" about the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program and that Tehran should never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons.

The Iranian foreign minister said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has verified the peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear program, which left no doubt over the issue.

Despite the fact that no evidence has been published to the contrary, the Western countries accuse Iran, a member of the NPT and the IAEA, of seeking nuclear weapons.

AR/SAR/AKM

Source: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=114073&sectionid=351020104