UN visitors none of US business

A top Iranian lawmaker slams the attitude adopted by US officials towards President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s trip to New York as their lack of expertise in international law.

“The prejudicial reaction of some US senators and officials proves that they were either not familiar with international law or seeking to satisfy the Israeli lobby,” ISNA quoted lawmaker Kazem Jalali, on Sunday.

Jalali, who is also the spokesman for the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said that “the Iranian delegation is visiting an international organization and all members of the UN have the right to visit its headquarters and attend its assemblies. Therefore this issue is none of the Americans’ business.”

The remarks come two days after 14 Republican senators penned a letter to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, calling on Washington to refuse to issue a visa for President Ahmadinejad, who is the only head of state scheduled to address the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference.

The conference opens on Monday and is held every five years.

Jalali went on to announce two upcoming committee meetings, including a Persian Gulf conference on May 21 that will be attended by Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi.

He added that Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani is also expected to chair a series of talks with top European envoys in the country.

“Tomorrow (Monday) evening we will hold a meeting with European ambassadors to allow the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission members and the envoys to communicate their views,” the lawmaker said.

He added that the talks come following similar “constructive” meetings with ambassadors from Arab nations.