Iran renewed its vow Sunday to respect its commitments to the international nuclear watchdog and to continue
cooperation with it.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi, speaking to
reporters in Tehran in a weekly news briefing, expressed hope that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and European countries would honor their commitments to Tehran by the same token.
"Iran remains tied to its commitments regarding cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and expects the agency and the European countries to act accordingly," IRNA cited him as saying.
The two sides, Asefi said, are sorting out "issues according to their timetable and understanding which exists with the agency in order to clarify certain ambiguities".
"The travel of IAEA inspectors take place in this regard so that the file of cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the agency returns soon to a normal course," the official added.
Meanwhile, Asefi brushed aside recent allegations made by US President George W. Bush about Tehran's "pursuit of a nuclear weapons program", claiming they were nothing new, the official agency added.
"Americans form hypotheses on their own and then persist on that, but as we have seen in the past, they are not successful with this policy.
"The other issue is America's concern about the expansion of ties between Iran and Europe and the US president's statements are somehow intended to pressure Washington's allies," Asefi added.
Asefi did not rule out the possibility of a link between Bush's statements and Iranian Foreign Minister "Mr. (Kamal) Kharrazi's very successful visit as well as the country`s diplomatic achievements" in Europe this week.
Kharrazi started his visit in Rome Monday in the framework of a European tour, which also took him to Brussels, London and Paris. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
