Syria seeks ‘constructive’ Iran-West nuclear talks

After the release of the latest UN nuclear watchdog’s report on Iran’s nuclear work, Syria says it seeks to engage Iran and the West in a “constructive” dialogue.

“We are trying to engage a constructive dialogue between the two parties in order to reach a peaceful solution,” Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said on Saturday.

He expressed Syria’s opposition to impose fresh Iran sanctions, saying, “Sanctions are not a solution (to the standoff) between Iran and the West.”

He rejected Western allegations that Iran is seeking atomic weapons and said, “Iran does not have a nuclear military program.”

On Thursday, the new head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano issued a two-sided report about Iran’s nuclear program.

The report, while critical of some aspects of Iran’s uranium enrichment, once again verified the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in the country.

Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), says its nuclear program is directed at the civilian applications of the technology. However, the West accuses the country of conducting a covert military nuclear program particularly after Iran started earlier this month to enrich uranium to the 20-percent level.

The IAEA report also confirmed that Iran is enriching uranium to the 20-percent level, required for the fuel used in the medical research reactor in Tehran.