Iran committed to NPT obligations - Putin

IRAN: Russian President Vladimir Putin says Iran is committed to its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and that there is no evidence for West’s claims about the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy programme.

In an interview with Russia Today on Tuesday, Putin reiterated the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear energy program, citing a recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). “I have no doubt that Iran is adhering to the rules in this area. Because there is no proof of the opposite,” the Russian president stated.

The United States, Israel, and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy programme and have used the unfounded accusation as a pretext to impose illegal sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Iran rejects the allegations, arguing that as a committed signatory to the NPT and a member of the IAEA, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

In addition, the IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that Iran’s civilian nuclear programme has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.

Adventurism against Iran catastrophic: Russian foreign minister

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned against the ‘catastrophic’ ramifications of any military aggression against Iran and underscored the role of diplomacy to resolve the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy issue. “Russia and Tunisia stress the importance of resolving Iran's nuclear energy issue through diplomatic channels,” Lavrov said in a joint press conference with Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem in Moscow on Thursday.

Both Moscow and Tunis urge negotiations to settle issues pertaining to Iran's nuclear energy programme, he added.

We believe that any possible military scenario will be catastrophic for the entire region, the Russian minister pointed out. Lavrov’s remarks came a few days after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the Israeli regime against the consequences of military action against Iran, urging Tel Aviv to think well before doing things that it ‘will regret later.’

“Look at what happened to the Americans in Afghanistan and in Iraq. I told (US president Barack) Obama the same thing,” Putin said in a meeting with his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres on Monday. The US, Israel and some of their allies accuse Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Washington and Tel Aviv have repeatedly threatened Tehran with a military strike in an attempt to force the Islamic Republic to halt its nuclear energy programme, which has been closely monitored by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Iran has strongly rejected the Western publicity campaign that its nuclear programme may be diverted to military objectives, while insisting that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the IAEA, it is entitled to pursue nuclear technology for its numerous civilian purposes.

- XINHUA