Weekly briefing of the Foreign Ministry Spokesman

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said the cancellation of the visit of Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini to Tehran had nothing to do with elections and missile tests in Iran. 

Talking to reporters during his weekly press briefing, he explained that the Italian foreign minister had requested a visit to Iran to invite Iranian officials to take part in an upcoming meeting on the situation in Afghanistan which is to be hosted by Italy.

Since Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was on a provincial visit at the time, he added, the Italian official, based on Iranian protocols, was asked to meet President Ahmadinejad and his cabinet in a provincial city.

Qashqavi said the Italian side has agreed to send a representative to Tehran to set up another date for Frattini’s visit.

He said prior to his request, Frattini was well aware of the upcoming elections in Iran.

As for the missile tests, the spokesman said no independent country was bound to seek the approval of other world countries to carry out tests to improve its defense power and military might.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said  that nuclear weapon has no place in Iran’s nuclear doctrine. 

Talking to reporters during his weekly press briefing, he rejected the repeated claims made by military officials of certain countries saying Iran would gain access to nuclear bombs within the next three years.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always been interested in eradication of nuclear weapons as well as weapons of mass destruction from the region and the entire world,” he added.

Qashqavi reiterated that Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities are under the direct supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), adding that Iran is a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

“Therefore, there is no reason for Iran’s peaceful nuclear program to be a threat to any world country,” he said.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman said  that a gas deal was finalized by Iranian and Pakistani presidents here on the sidelines of a tripartite summit which was held with the participation of their counterpart from Afghanistan. 

Hassan Qashqavi made the remarks at his weekly press briefing while referring to the trilateral summit held on Sunday by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan on major regional issues.

The gas deal was finalized by President Ahmadinejad and President Zardari on the sidelines of the tripartite summit which ended by issuing a 25-article joint statement dubbed as the "Tehran Statment."

Qashqavi told reporters although the gas deal was made between Iran and Pakistan, any third country, including India, could also join the agreement.

There would be no obstacle for India's joining to the deal, Qashqavi said noting that the Iran-Pakistan gas exports agreement would follow its normal course.

Commenting on the tripartite summit, the spokesman said Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan were determined to open a new chapter in promoting regional cooperation.

Qashqavi hoped that the summit would prepare grounds for solving regional problems.

He said Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan enjoyed cultural, historical and religious commonalities that would help them resolve their regional difficulties without foreigners’ interference.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi announced that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is probably to visit Russia in June. 

He added that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has invited his Iranian counterpart to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit to be held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on June 15-16.

Russia, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are the SCO member states while Iran, India and Mongolia are the observer countries.

On the recent remarks made by Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu on settlement of the existing dispute between Iran and the UAE on the three Persian Gulf islands through his organization, Qashqavi said the dispute is only on the island of Abu Musa and not the three islands.

“The issue can be settled by the two sides and there is no need for involvement of any other country or organization,” the spokesman reiterated.

Criticizing the continued siege of the Gaza Strip by the Zionist regime, he regretted the inaction of regional states towards the issue.

Gaza is a prison with 1.5 million inmates established through West’s support for the Zionist regime, he said, expressing concern over the critical condition of the oppressed people in the city.

Underlining the need for efforts by human rights organizations to help resolve the issue, Qashqavi stressed that cooperation between the Islamic Republic and Muslim countries would help lift the siege on the city.