Remarks by Israeli officials worthless: Iran

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast says remarks by the officials of the Israeli regime have no significance.

“What the officials of the Zionist regime say is of no significance whatsoever,” Mehmanparast said during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

“The Zionist regime is in no position to want to comment on the peaceful nuclear activities of our country, and the remarks by the officials of this regime (Israel) have no position, and no audience,” Mehmanparast added.

In a meeting with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Sunday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the international community must set enriching uranium above 20 percent as the “red line” for Iran’s nuclear energy program.

Even the United States, Israel’s staunch ally, rebuffed the Israeli demand to declare “red lines” for Iran.

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Monday that the idea of deadlines or red lines is “not useful.”

“The main suspect in the Middle East is the Zionist Regime (Israel) and all efforts for purging the region of nuclear weapons are focused on this regime,” Mehmanparast added.

Commenting on reports about the UN-Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi’s visit to Iran, Mehmanparast said the international envoy might travel to Iran to hold talks with Iranian officials regarding Syria’s crisis.

Mehmanparast added, however, that no decision has been made in this regard and no date has been set.

On August 17, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced the appointment of Brahimi as the new Joint Special Representative of the UN and the Arab League for Syria.

Mehmanparast dismissed foreign military intervention in Syria, saying such meddling can lead to a serious crisis in the whole Middle East region.

“As we announced before, Syria issue does not have a military solution, but the suitable and desired resolution is noninterference of foreign countries, refraining from arming Syrian opposition groups and preventing terrorist activities in the country,” said Mehmanparast.

Mehmanparast urged all the countries that can have a “positive and constructive” effect on resolving the Syrian crisis to cooperate and consult on this issue.

In a reference to the Iranian nuclear energy program, Mehmanparast said Iran’s talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should be followed up within the legal and technical frameworks.

In this framework, Iran’s rights should be recognized under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and issues related to Iran’s security should also be taken into consideration, he noted.