US diplomat attends Iran banquet in NY

A top US diplomat has attended a banquet held by Iran to bring together senior diplomats from the fifteen members of the UN Security Council.

The US administration sent its Deputy Ambassador to the UN Alejandro Wolff to the banquet which was held at the New York residence of the Iranian ambassador to the UN on Thursday, IRNA reported.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who hosted the dinner, was expected to elaborate on Iran’s stance on its nuclear program.

Mottaki arrived in New York to attend a conference on the review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which is underway at the UN headquarters.

Washington sees the dinner “as another opportunity for Iran to show the Council that it is prepared to meet it’s obligations and play by international rules,” The Daily Telegraph quoted a US official as saying.

Iran says its nuclear program is directed at the civilian applications of the technology. The West, however, accuses the country of using its activities, which are under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, as a cover for pursuing military objectives.