Iran rejects as baseless French FM’s “interference in internal affairs”

IRI Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast here Wednesday rejected as “baseless and interference in Iran’s internal affairs” French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe’s remarks on Iran in interview with Tele France TV. According to IRNA, the Islamic Republic of Iran Foreign Ministry’s Media Head Office further quoted Mehmanparast as saying in this regard, “Those comments are proof that Mr. Juppe is not familiar with the realities of the diplomatic atmosphere, sound competition, diversity of political groups, and free and fair elections amid a sound and secure atmosphere. He added, “Apparently the French officials are dissatisfied with the 65% presence of our people at the 9th Parliamentary Election and the dynamic and inspiring role that Iran is playing in the region, which is they are reacting the way they are.” Mehmanparast invited the French officials to act sagaciously and rationally, and to respect the rights of the independent Iranian nation, including the need to refrain from interfering in the Iranian nation’s internal affairs. He added, “The policy of confrontation with Iran has thus far led no fruit (for the west), which is good reason for the concerned officials to get convinced that adopting a constructive interaction course with the Islamic Republic of Iran would be more appropriate for them. The French foreign minister in addition to raising doubts about the authenticity of the recent Iranian parliamentary elections said in that in that interview, “Our aim is very clear: we can’t tolerate Iran getting hold of a nuclear weapon. It’s a violation of her international commitments – Iran has signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty – it’s a violation of Security Council resolutions and it’s a violation of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s decisions. We’re saying to Iran, “Since you say you have no (military) nuclear program, open up your files and your sites, and then we can be reassured.” That’s the path of dialogue. Until now, Iran hasn’t responded to these offers of dialogue, and the recent inspection by the IAEA inspectors failed, because Iran refused to give them access to the sites they wanted to visit. That’s why we said: In that case, we’re going to toughen the sanctions. Very tough sanctions were imposed, on the central bank’s transactions and also on Iranian oil exports; and we were then confronted with those provocations Iran is an expert at, because Iran announced she was suspending her oil exports to France and Britain – quite simply because we had banned them. I wanted to remind you of that. Now there’s this letter that’s just arrived, which seems to signal a certain willingness on Iran’s part to resume dialogue: we’re in the process of considering it together, but we won’t, as it were, be led up the garden path by the Iranians, so we’ll set very clear conditions. There will be no lifting of sanctions as a precondition until Iran responds concretely to what we’re demanding of her, namely a halt to her enrichment program, not just 20% but also 3.5% uranium. There – that’s where we are in the Group of Six, at any rate between France and Germany: there’s a total convergence of views. The communiqué handed out by the Iranian side at the IAEA last Monday, whose full text was dispatched by IRNA Monday night includes comprehensive response to Mr. Juppe’s remarks and similar irresponsible comments.