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Iranian MP Says Next Government Should Have New View of Nuclear Issue

Posted on: Sunday, 3 July 2005, 15:00 CDT

Excerpt from report in English by Iranian Mehr news agency in English; subheadings as published

Tehran, 3 July: Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee chairman Ala'eddin Borujerdi announced on Sunday [3 July] that the next government should have a new outlook on Iran's nuclear energy programme.

Access to nuclear technology is a right of the Iranian nation and the next government should consider this fact in its future moves, he told the Mehr News Agency.

Over the past years we failed to reach a favourable result in our nuclear negotiations with the European Union big three of Britain, Germany and France, Borujerdi noted, adding: This is why the next government should make more strenuous efforts to help the country advance in its nuclear programme.

We are ready to cooperate with the new administration as soon as it has appointed the next foreign minister, he observed.

Iran's diplomacy will not change with new government

Member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, Manuchehr Mottaki said on Sunday that Iran's foreign policy is based on national interests, the constitution and the instructions of the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution.

The Islamic Republic's diplomacy will not change with the new administration, he told reporters after the Majlis open session.

Mottaki called the recent moves against Iran's newly-elected president by the US as a psychological warfare.

The next government is a government of work seeking to develop the country and we consider any move aimed to deprive the administration from implementing its plans as an organized attempt against the country, he added.

Majlis Speaker says Foreign Ministry did not neglect its duty

Majlis Speaker Gholamali Haddad-Adel presented a report on his recent three-day trip to Belgium ahead of the Majlis open session on Sunday. Haddad-Adel noted that his visit to Brussels took place at the invitation of his Belgian counterpart, adding Iran-Belgium ties have expanded over the recent months.

He noted that in his meetings with President of the Belgian Parliament's Lower House Herman De Croo, Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht and Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, the two sides discussed avenues for boosting bilateral relations as well as issues of mutual interest.

Haddad-Adel said that in his meeting with the EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, the issue of human rights and the Iranian parliament's position towards the peaceful use of nuclear energy were discussed.

Two minor incidents also occurred during the trip, which were broadcast in a different light, he went on to say. Iranian officials refuse to attend banquets where alcoholic beverages are served but the Belgian side did not consent to this and the ceremony was finally cancelled. The Majlis Speaker stressed that the issue had put no influence on the process of bilateral ties.

He added that the Iranian delegation also cancelled a meeting with Senate female president Anne-Marie Lizin since the Belgian side did not respect the Islamic principles that do not allow men to shake hands with women.

I didn't feel the Foreign Ministry had neglected any part [of] its duty he said. In fact Foreign Ministry officials performed their duties quite efficiently, he underlined.

MPs call on ministries to take action

A group of MPs called on various executive officials on Sunday to pursue certain issues in separate written warnings.

Teymur Ali Asgari, an MP from Mashhad, called for holding an unofficial session attended by the intelligence minister for dealing with forces involved in the organized effort to ruin certain candidates during the presidential election campaigns.

MP Sattar Hedayatkhah urged the Foreign Ministry to adopt a firm position against British officials' interfering remarks on Iran's presidential poll. [Passage omitted]

Source: BBC Monitoring Middle East

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