Iran rejects UN chief’s “biased” nuclear views

Iran Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has censured the UN chief Ban Ki-moon for his “biased” remarks about the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program, saying such views would undermine his international credibility.

“The UN Secretary-General’s views are not supposed to satisfy others, otherwise he will lose his credibility as the [UN] Secretary-General and an international figure,” Salehi said on Monday.

In an interview with the Washington Post on Friday, the UN boss claimed that Iran would “use talks [with world powers over its nuclear program] as a cover to build a [nuclear] bomb.”

The Iranian minister called on Ban to speak out impartially and based on the realities.

“Mr. Ban Ki-moon, as an international figure and the (UN) Secretary-General, is expected to express his views without taking sides,” Salehi said.

The Islamic Republic and the P5+1 group of world powers — China, Russia, France, Britain, and the US plus Germany — are scheduled to resume their talks in Kazakhstan on February 26. The last round of talks between Iran and the six powers was held in Moscow in June 2012.

The United States, the Israeli regime and some of their allies have falsely accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Iran has vehemently rejected the allegation arguing that as a committed signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is entitled to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

The IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of nuclear facilities in Iran. However, the agency has never found any evidence showing that Tehran’s nuclear energy program has been diverted toward military objectives.