Energy News  
NUKEWARS
Ahmadinejad says world powers must 'engage' Iran

by Staff Writers
Tehran (AFP) Dec 18, 2010
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday hailed this month's Geneva talks on Iran's nuclear programme and reiterated that world powers should cooperate with Tehran rather than confront it.

"The Geneva talks were very good and it is time that they (world powers) change the policy of confrontation to engagement," he said in a live interview on state television in his first reaction to the December 6 and 7 talks.

He said the "best way" for the two sides was to move towards cooperation.

"We are moving on this path and I hope in the talks in Istanbul and then Brazil and then Tehran, we will reach a framework of cooperation," he said, suggesting more talks may be held in Brazil and Iran after Istanbul next month.

"This will benefit all, and everyone's face will be saved," he said.

Ahmadinejad spoke on the day the Islamic republic's atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi officially took over as interim foreign minister after Manouchehr Mottaki was sacked from the post by the president on December 13.

World powers led by Washington suspect that Iran's nuclear programme is aimed at making atomic weapons, a charge strongly denied by Tehran.

The Geneva talks came after a 14-month hiatus and will be followed by a second round of talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul next month.

Iran's nuclear programme has galloped ahead under Ahmadinejad's presidency, despite four sets of UN sanctions and unilateral punitive measures imposed by the European Union and countries including the United States.

Ahmadinejad again criticised the sanctions in the interview, calling them "illegal levers" against a "great nation like Iran."

"I hope we are moving towards understanding and cooperation. The people of Iran welcome cooperation" with the world powers, he added.

As Salehi officially took the helm at the foreign ministry, he said that Tehran's top priority will be to boost ties with regional power Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

"Iran's first priority in diplomacy should be neighbours and the Islamic world. In this regard, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have a special position," the fluent Arabic and English speaker was quoted as saying by Mehr news agency.

"Saudi Arabia deserves to have special political ties with Iran. Iran and Saudi Arabia, as two effective countries in the Islamic world, can resolve many problems together."

Salehi's remarks on Saudi Arabia are significant after US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks showed Riyadh obsessed by a threat from Iran.

King Abdullah reportedly urged top US officials to destroy Tehran's nuclear programme, telling them "to cut off the head of the snake."

Ties between Iran and Turkey have grown in recent months, with Ankara even endorsing a nuclear fuel deal for Tehran in May, along with Brazil.

Turkey is also hosting the next round of talks between Iran and the six world powers in Istanbul, following the Geneva negotiations.

Ankara has repeatedly called for sustained diplomacy to resolve the Iran nuclear controversy.

Salehi, 61, said Iran and the European Union would also "benefit" if Europe switched its position towards Tehran from "confrontation to engagement as soon as possible."

"Despite some unfair moves by the European Union, this union wants respectful ties with Iran for a number of reasons, including energy," he said.

Salehi took over the foreign ministry at a function that was also a farewell ceremony for Mottaki. However, the 57-year-old Mottaki, who was sacked while on an official visit to Senegal, did not attend in person.

His dismissal came after he hailed as a "step forward" remarks by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Iran is entitled to a peaceful nuclear energy programme.

Clinton had told the BBC that Tehran could enrich uranium for civilian purposes in the future, but only once it has demonstrated it can do so in a responsible manner and in accordance with Iran's international obligations.

Mottaki's comments appeared to cut across Iran's official position, repeated almost daily, that its enrichment of uranium is non-negotiable.

Mottaki's sacking also came just days after the Geneva talks.



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


NUKEWARS
Iran blasts have Jundallah's fingerprints
Tehran (UPI) Dec 15, 2010
A suicide bombing attack outside a mosque in Iran's southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province that killed 38 people Wednesday has all the hallmarks of Jundallah, a Sunni Islamist group that has become a thorn in the side of the Shiite regime in Tehran. The United States, in an apparent gesture toward Iran in advance of talks on Iran's contentious nuclear program last week in Geneva, bran ... read more







NUKEWARS
Algeria pushes to revive energy industry

Policies To Spur Renewable Energy Can Lower Energy Costs

Who Uses The Most Electricity In Germany

How Can Urban Areas Efficiently Save Energy

NUKEWARS
A New Electronic Structure For Generating Spin Current

EU denies funding for fusion reactor

Electric Current Moves Magnetic Vortices

Computer Memory Takes A Spin

NUKEWARS
Nordex USA Wins 41MW Order For Iowa Wind Farm

Wind Turbines On Farmland May Benefit Crops

Massive offshore wind proposed for R.I.

Repair And Inspection Services For The Expanding Wind Power Industry

NUKEWARS
Xcel Energy And SunEdison Break Ground On Solar Deployment In New Mexico

SunReports Approved By California Solar Initiative's Thermal Program

Kalahari Greentech Tests Gas Turbine

Solopower Offers World's Most Powerful Certified Flexible CIGS Module

NUKEWARS
Malaysia aims to build two nuclear power plants

Russia, Mongolia set terms for uranium mining venture

Mitsubishi to produce nuclear fuel in US with AREVA

Areva head opposes new capital increase

NUKEWARS
Champion Hydrogen-Producing Microbe

"Green genes" In Yeast May Boost Biofuel Production By Increasing Stress Tolerance

Seaweed As Biofuel? Metabolic Engineering Makes It A Viable Option

Doubling Import Tax On Ethanol Will Escalate Brazil-US Trade Conflict

NUKEWARS
China Builds Theme Park In Spaceport

Tiangong Space Station Plans Progessing

China-Made Satellite Keeps Remote Areas In Venezuela Connected

Optis Software To Optimize Chinese Satellite Design

NUKEWARS
California approves first broad US climate plan

Polar Bears Still On Thin Ice

Climate change worse for Southeast Asia

Police wrongly arrested Copenhagen climate protesters: court


The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement