Former Italian PM rejects Fars report

Former Italian premier Romano Prodi has dismissed a report which quoted him as discussing Rome’s stance on Iran’s nuclear program.

In a statement sent to Press TV on September 20, Prodi said that “I never spoke about the Italian position or Italian politics; it is not my responsibility.”

The statement came after Fars News Agency quoted the former Italian prime minister as saying on Sunday that “Italy does not follow up the United States on Iran’s nuclear energy program. We are not like a school boy who goes after his teacher.”

During a speech at the Foreign Ministry Faculty of International Relations in Tehran, “I never said that or something similar,” Prodi said in the statement sent to Press TV through the Embassy of Italy in Tehran.

“I simply underlined — as I shall do today in my speech in Azad University — that Europe must play a more important role in world politics,” The statement quoted him as saying.

“My speech was recorded and everybody can easily check my words,” said the former premier.