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Iran warns Russia on siding with US

29 September 2010 01:43 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast warns Russia that siding with the US against Iran will harm Moscowâ€™s long-term interests, APA reports quoting presstv.ir website.

"Russiaâ€™s long-term interests will not be realized by getting engaged in US-sponsored games [against Iran]," Mehmanparast said at his weekly press conference on Tuesday, reacting to Russiaâ€™s unilateral termination of an arms deal with the Islamic Republic.

After continuous delays and mixed signals regarding the delivery of the sophisticated S-300 missile system to Iran, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev issued a decree on Wednesday prohibiting the delivery of the missile system to Tehran.

Russia was required to provide Iran with at least five S-300 air-defense systems under a contract signed between the two countries in 2005.

Russia argued that the ban was justified under the UN Resolution 1929 against the Islamic Republic.

Mehmanparast further pointed out that the UN Resolution 1929 was itself "illicit and unjust," adding that such defensive weapons did not indeed fall under the resolution.

The Iranian spokesperson insisted that the political pressure on Iran to retreat from its peaceful nuclear program will fail.

On June 9, the UN Security Council (UNSC) imposed fresh US-engineered sanctions against Iran over allegations that Tehranâ€™s nuclear program may include a hidden military application. No evidence has ever been produced by the IAEA and Western countries showing Iranâ€™s diversion from a civilian program.

After the resolution was passed, Moscow said that it was not obliged to drop the S-300 deal with the Islamic Republic, since it was not referenced in the UNSC resolution.

Moscow later claimed that upon further study of the sanctions resolution, it was halting the delivery, which has been already delayed numerous times by Western and Israeli pressures.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejadâ€™s 9/11 remarks

Mehmanparast said certain issues must be taken into consideration regarding President Ahmadinejadâ€™s remarks about the September 11 attacks.

He said that Iran was among the first countries to condemn the attacks, adding that Iran is a vocal critic and the biggest victim of terrorism.

Mehmanparast also criticized what he called "hasty, imprudent" reactions to Iranâ€™s calls for a probe into the incident.

He said while Iran condemns the deaths of the victims of the attack, a careful research is required to provide answers to many questions that have remained unanswered regarding the incident.

In his UN address speech last Friday, President Ahmadinejad called for the establishment of an independent truth-finding committee to investigate the 9/11 attacks. He also said a special tribunal should be set up to prosecute the perpetuators of the attacks.

Iranâ€™s nuclear program

Mehmanparast said that Iran was ready to hold talks with the West over its nuclear work. According to the spokesman, nuclear talks fall under three categories.

Iran has expressed readiness to talk with the Vienna Group -- France, Russia, the US and the International Atomic Energy Agency -- based on the Tehran declaration, Mehmanparast said, adding that the time and venue of talks had yet to be decided upon.

He said talks between Iranâ€™s top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton were also on the agenda but no time and place has been set yet.

He added that Iran was also ready to hold talks with the P5+1 -- China, France, Russia the UK and the US plus Germany -- to press ahead with its nuclear rights.

He said sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear energy program would not hamper the nationâ€™s progress.

Two detained US nationals

Mehmanparast said that the legal proceedings for the two American citizens -- who were among the three arrested in July 2009 for illegally entering the country -- have not been completed yet.

The Americans were charged with espionage after the Tehran prosecutor found "compelling evidence" that the trio were collaborating with US intelligence agencies.

Iran released one of the detained Americans, Sarah Shourd, on bail earlier this month based on grounds of â€œIslamic compassion.â€

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani

Mehmanparast said that the final verdict on Ashtianiâ€™s case would be announced after the completion of legal proceedings.

Israelâ€™s attack on a Gaza-bound aid boat

The spokesman said that Israelâ€™s attack on a Gaza-bound aid boat should be widely condemned.

He also criticized the West for supporting Israel and said the problems in the Middle East would remain unsolved as long as Western countries continue to support Israel.