Tehran Committed to IAEA Cooperation

Iranian ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) once again expressed Iran’s commitment to resolving issues pertaining to its nuclear energy program with the UN agency.
Ali Asghar Soltanieh said on Thursday that Iran was committed to the continuation of talks with the IAEA to resolve outstanding issues, Press TV reported.
He made the remarks after IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano issued the agency’s latest report on the Iranian nuclear energy program.
Soltanieh, however, called for a calm atmosphere without political propaganda in order for Iran and the IAEA to successfully address the issues.
The IAEA’s report showed ‘no evidence of diversion of material and nuclear activities towards military purposes’, Soltanieh said.
The report said Tehran has begun installing advanced centrifuges at its main uranium enrichment plant near the central town of Natanz.
Iran and the IAEA wrapped up their latest round of talks on the Iranian nuclear energy program in Tehran on February 13.
After the talks, Soltanieh, who headed the Iranian negotiating team, said Tehran and the agency had resolved some differences and reached an agreement on certain issues.
The envoy to the IAEA also stated on Thursday that the IAEA had been constantly inspecting Iran’s nuclear facilities for ten years, and that the main message of the UN agency’s report was that Iran had not deviated from civilian to military purposes in its nuclear energy program.
The IAEA report says the enrichment of 20-percent uranium is done merely to supply fuel for Tehran Research Reactor to produce radio-medicine for hospitals, Soltanieh said.
In December 2012, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Fereydoun Abbasi said Tehran will continue the enrichment of uranium to the 20-percent degree ‘as long and as much as’ necessary.
The United States, the Israeli regime and some of their allies accuse Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program. Iran categorically rejects the allegations.
The IAEA report was issued ahead of a new round of talks between Tehran and the P5+1 group, scheduled to be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on February 26.

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53 Dead, 250 Injured in Damascus Car Bombing

Russian has criticized the US for applying double standards over Syria and blamed Washington for blocking a UN Security Council statement condemning a car bomb attack in Damascus.
Moscow’s statement on Friday came a day after Syrian media reported the deaths of dozens in the blast on a busy highway in Mazraa district, damaging nearby Russian embassy buildings in the capital, Agencies reported.
“We are disappointed that, as a result of the United States’ position at the United Nations Security Council, the terrorist act in Syria was not condemned,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a joint news conference after talks with China’s foreign minister.
“We believe this is double standards and see in it a very dangerous tendency by our American colleagues to depart from the fundamental principle of unconditional condemnation of any terrorist act, a principle which secures the unity of the international community in the fight against terrorism.”

Huge Damascus Bombing
A massive car bomb explosion in the Syrian capital, Damascus, has killed at least 53 people and injured another 250, reports said.
Syria blamed “terrorist groups linked to Al-Qaeda” for the blast, which hit a central district near the headquarters of Syria’s ruling Baath Party.

53 Dead, 250 Injured in Damascus Car Bombing

Russian has criticized the US for applying double standards over Syria and blamed Washington for blocking a UN Security Council statement condemning a car bomb attack in Damascus.
Moscow’s statement on Friday came a day after Syrian media reported the deaths of dozens in the blast on a busy highway in Mazraa district, damaging nearby Russian embassy buildings in the capital, Agencies reported.
“We are disappointed that, as a result of the United States’ position at the United Nations Security Council, the terrorist act in Syria was not condemned,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a joint news conference after talks with China’s foreign minister.
“We believe this is double standards and see in it a very dangerous tendency by our American colleagues to depart from the fundamental principle of unconditional condemnation of any terrorist act, a principle which secures the unity of the international community in the fight against terrorism.”

Huge Damascus Bombing
A massive car bomb explosion in the Syrian capital, Damascus, has killed at least 53 people and injured another 250, reports said.
Syria blamed “terrorist groups linked to Al-Qaeda” for the blast, which hit a central district near the headquarters of Syria’s ruling Baath Party.

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Iran Helps Release 48 Syrian Captives

Iranian ambassador to Damascus says Iran’s diplomatic efforts led to the freedom of 48 Syrian citizens taken hostage last week by militants in Syria’s Idlib province.
The 48 people, set free on Thursday morning, were part of a group of women and children from the Shia-populated villages of Fua and Kafraya in Idlib. They were abducted by militants while on a bus trip to Damascus on February 15, Press TV reported.
Ambassador to Syria Mohammad Reza Sheibani said efforts by the Islamic Republic’s Foreign Ministry personnel began following reports of the abduction, relaying pressures on the abductors through its contacts with regional parties, which ultimately led to the freedom of these innocent women and children.
One of the released women, Um-Hossein, expressed her thanks to the Iranian people and officials in an interview with IRIB for standing beside the Syrian nation and government during these turbulent times.
In mid-February, armed gangs in northwestern Syria reportedly abducted more than 300 people over two days in an unprecedented string of sectarian kidnappings. Reports say the abductions involved large numbers of women and children.
Syria has been experiencing foreign-fueled unrest since March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of security forces, have been killed in the turmoil.

Euro Falls

The euro declined for the first time in six weeks as an industry report showed services and manufacturing in the region shrank at a faster pace in February than economists forecast.
The 17-nation currency fell for a third day versus the yen on speculation the European Central Bank may have to keep borrowing costs lower for longer to help spur a recovery.
The Dollar Index fell from a five-month high as manufacturing in the Philadelphia region unexpectedly contracted. The pound rose the most in two weeks against the euro, Bloomberg wrote.
“The eurozone is still facing contraction and there’s still a good amount of headwinds to the economy,” Eric Viloria, a senior currency strategist at Gain Capital Group LLC in New York, said in a telephone interview. That’s going to weigh on the euro.
Against Other Currencies
The euro fell 0.7 percent to $1.3190 at 5 p.m. New York time after dropping to $1.3161, the lowest level since Jan. 10. The common currency declined 1.2 percent to 122.81 yen. The yen strengthened 0.5 percent to 93.11 per dollar.
The Dollar Index (DXY) pared gains after the Fed’s Philadelphia’s general economic index dropped to minus 12.5, the lowest reading since June, from minus 5.8 in January. Readings lower than zero signal contraction in the area covering eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware.
Intercontinental Exchange Inc.’s Dollar Index, used to track the greenback versus the currencies of six US trading partners, gained 0.4 percent to 81.378 after rising to 81.508, the highest level since Sept. 5.

Russia Counting on P5+1 Talks Progress

A Russian deputy foreign minister said he counts on progress in the upcoming round of talks between Iran and the P5+1 group in Kazakhstan next week.
“We are counting on some developments in the forthcoming round,” Reuters quoted Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Thursday.
Iran and the P5+1--United States, France, Britain, Russia, China, and Germany--are scheduled to hold talks in Almaty, Kazakshtan, on February 26.
The Russian official underscored the need for ‘movement forward, progress’ in the next round of talks.
“Progress is slow and expectations are not very high, but it shows that we are not moving in the wrong direction,” he stated.
Also on Thursday, Vice Speaker of the Russian State Duma Sergey Baburin slammed the US unilateral sanctions against Iran as Washington’s tactic to sabotage the upcoming talks. Baburin noted that the US stance on Iran totally runs counter to the objectives of the negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group.
The US behaviors indicate that it is in Washington’s interest to continue pressures against Iran and prevent the resolution of problems related to Iran’s nuclear energy program through dialogue, Baburin pointed out.
Iran has proved its goodwill in the course of negotiations and now it is time for the Western side to adopt a similar approach, he noted.
The Russian official pointed to more than 7,300 man-hours of inspection of Iran’s nuclear energy facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), saying that such level of cooperation with the IAEA has been unprecedented in the world. This proves Iran’s goodwill, but the West ignores this obvious fact, he added.
Iran has said if the group of six major world powers recognizes the Islamic Republic’s rights, Tehran will remove their concerns over the country’s nuclear energy program.
The United States, Israel, and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program. As a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the IAEA, Iran rejects the allegations and says it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

West Sanctions Have Backfired

A former Pentagon official downplayed the western sanctions imposed on Iran over the country’s nuclear energy program, saying the unilateral bans have backfired.
Iran has held fast in its determination to proceed with its nuclear energy program despite sanctions or Israel’s threats of a military strike on Iran, said Michael Maloof, Press TV reported on Thursday.
He added that the sanctions have failed to affect Iran’s progress in its nuclear energy program.
The ex-Pentagon official stated that the sanctions have only harmed the average Iranian citizens to the point that they are creating animosity toward the US and its policies.
The US has spearheaded several rounds of sanctions against Iran in recent years, based on the unfounded accusation that Iran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.
Iran strongly rejects the allegation, arguing that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Fereydoun Abbasi said on Wednesday that the Islamic Republic is determined to exercise its right to peaceful nuclear technology.
“As in the past, we will follow our path with strength to stabilize science and technology in the country,” the AEOI chief stated.

Talks With US Should Be Based On Logic

Iran is ready for negotiations with the US based on a logical approach and not under pressure, Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations Mohammad Khazaei said on Friday.
“Islamic Republic is ready for talks with Washington based on mutual respect, but it will not agree with the kind of negotiations which aims to increase pressure on Iranian nation,” IRNA quoted Khazaei as saying.
Speaking in New York at the headquarters of Asia Society, a non-profit organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia, the envoy noted that Tehran expects practical steps from Washington as a prelude for negotiations.
“There is an old mutual mistrust between Tehran and Washington which roots in the US hostile actions against Iranian nation over the past three decades; Iranian nation views US readiness for talking as part of the Washington pressure strategy against Tehran,” the diplomat said.
The envoy added that mutual respect means US should not interfere in Iran’s internal affairs and respect its sovereignty.
“The US has declared that it will use a dual approach which includes both diplomacy and pressure towards Iran, but just the pressure tool has been applied against Tehran,” he pointed out.
Khazaei asserted that enrichment based on the NPT is our red line and that its degree is not important for Tehran.
“Iran has proposed the Leader’s decree on prohibition of production and use of nuclear bombs to the UN Security Council and the UN secretary general which proves the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program,” Khazaei further stated.
The United States and Iran severed diplomatic ties in 1980, after Iranian students took over its embassy in Tehran. They believed that US mission had turned into place for espionage.
The two countries have had tense relations ever since, but have shown willingness to attend talks to help resolve regional issues, including security in Iraq. Yet, the two countries have avoided talks on bilateral issues for the last three decades.
At the 49th annual Munich Security Conference in Germany on February 2, US Vice President Joe Biden said Washington was ready to hold direct talks with Iran over the country’s nuclear energy program. However, he noted, “There will be continued pressure.” On February 7, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said, “Negotiation is meaningful when the two sides talk with goodwill, under equal conditions and without seeking to deceive each other. Therefore, ‘negotiation for the sake of negotiation’, ‘tactical negotiation’ and negotiation offer in order to sell a superpower’s gesture to the world is a deceptive move.”

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