The new European Union foreign policy chief said Monday that Iran should make up for the “mistakes” it has made in its relationship with the West.
Iran is “a country which is steeped in history, and I feel that it has made mistakes. If the country wants to be treated as I believe its history, geography and people deserve, it has to work with us,” said Catherine Ashton during her confirmation hearing in the European Parliament.
Ashton, the British baroness of Upholland, is set to steer the bloc’s diplomacy during the next five years.
She referred to Iran’s nuclear program and its human rights record as the mistakes the EU believes Iran has made, DPA reported.
Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the UN nuclear watchdog, is accused by the West and Israel of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear pursuit. The country, however, says its nuclear work is directed at the civilian applications of the technology, to which it is entitled to under international law.
Ashton said the delays over a nuclear deal between Tehran and the West were “highly regrettable.”
A UN-backed draft proposal envisaged Iran exchanging its low enriched uranium with higher grade fuel.
The country, however, citing West’s failures to honor their previous nuclear commitments to Tehran, has demanded more guarantees before the deal is approved.
Ashton’s predecessor, Javier Solana, a former nuclear physicist, headed negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program. According to DPA, no decision has been made as to whether Ashton would assume the role.
