President: Iran Ready for EU Talks on Mideast
TEHRAN (Dispatches) – President Hassan Rouhani said here Wednesday Iran stands ready to negotiate with the European Union over the enhancement of security and stability in the Middle East.
Speaking in a meeting with Dutch Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag, Rouhani particularly referred to the Saudi war on Yemen, and said Tehran supports any attempts made to end the aggression.
He rejected as utterly baseless and untrue the accusation that Tehran has supplied Yemen with weapons, saying that pressing charges as such will not help solve problems.
"Instead of such blame games, efforts should focus on putting an immediate end to war, establishing a ceasefire, helping Yemeni people, who desperately need assistance, and preparing the ground for intra-Yemeni talks to start,” he said.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Rouhani lashed out at the propaganda campaigns launched by certain countries against Tehran’s nuclear program.
He said international circles turned a blind eye to the Iraqi missile attacks on Iranian cities during Baghdad’s eight-year imposed war on Iran in the 1980s.
Rouhani said other countries refused to sell missiles to Iran to respond in kind to Saddam Hussein’s regime.
"With this historical experience which is related to their country’s national security, our people are sensitive about any issue in that regard, and rightly believe the country’s defense power is not negotiable,” he said.
"Still, we are interested to hold talks with our friends regarding the massive sales, mostly by Western countries, of destructive weapons to the countries in the region, especially the sales of the deadly aircraft and missiles used to kill and displace people and destroy Yemen’s residential areas and infrastructure” he said.
President Rouhani also said Iran and the Netherlands have great potential to enhance their cooperation in different areas, including trade, banking, economy, energy and tourism.
The top Dutch diplomat, for her part, said Dutch companies are prepared to play a more active role in implementing projects in Iran.
Spanish FM in Tehran
Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis expressed his country’s support for the Iran nuclear deal, and called for expansion of bilateral relations between Tehran and Madrid.
In a Wednesday meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif here, Dastis expressed his satisfaction with visiting Iran and added this is his first visit to the country.
"I hope I would make more visits to Iran in the future,” he noted.
Touching on the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, he added as a member of the European Union, Spain remains committed to the deal.
The Iranian foreign minister, for his part, referred to the longstanding relations between Tehran and Madrid, and called for expansion of relations between the two states in all fields.
The two top diplomats also called for expansion of cooperation between Iran and Spain in tourism, environment, energy, advanced technologies, transportation, and academic fields. They also exchanged views on regional developments.
At the end of the meeting, Zarif and Dastis signed memorandums of understanding to expand bilateral ties and political consultations. The railway officials of Iran and Spain also inked an MoU on development of cooperation in rail transportation.
Spanish foreign minister arrived in Iran on Tuesday at the head of a high-ranking politico-economic delegation for a two-day visit. He also held talks with President Rouhani on bilateral and regional issues.
Speaking in a meeting with Dutch Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag, Rouhani particularly referred to the Saudi war on Yemen, and said Tehran supports any attempts made to end the aggression.
He rejected as utterly baseless and untrue the accusation that Tehran has supplied Yemen with weapons, saying that pressing charges as such will not help solve problems.
"Instead of such blame games, efforts should focus on putting an immediate end to war, establishing a ceasefire, helping Yemeni people, who desperately need assistance, and preparing the ground for intra-Yemeni talks to start,” he said.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Rouhani lashed out at the propaganda campaigns launched by certain countries against Tehran’s nuclear program.
He said international circles turned a blind eye to the Iraqi missile attacks on Iranian cities during Baghdad’s eight-year imposed war on Iran in the 1980s.
Rouhani said other countries refused to sell missiles to Iran to respond in kind to Saddam Hussein’s regime.
"With this historical experience which is related to their country’s national security, our people are sensitive about any issue in that regard, and rightly believe the country’s defense power is not negotiable,” he said.
"Still, we are interested to hold talks with our friends regarding the massive sales, mostly by Western countries, of destructive weapons to the countries in the region, especially the sales of the deadly aircraft and missiles used to kill and displace people and destroy Yemen’s residential areas and infrastructure” he said.
President Rouhani also said Iran and the Netherlands have great potential to enhance their cooperation in different areas, including trade, banking, economy, energy and tourism.
The top Dutch diplomat, for her part, said Dutch companies are prepared to play a more active role in implementing projects in Iran.
Spanish FM in Tehran
Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis expressed his country’s support for the Iran nuclear deal, and called for expansion of bilateral relations between Tehran and Madrid.
In a Wednesday meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif here, Dastis expressed his satisfaction with visiting Iran and added this is his first visit to the country.
"I hope I would make more visits to Iran in the future,” he noted.
Touching on the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, he added as a member of the European Union, Spain remains committed to the deal.
The Iranian foreign minister, for his part, referred to the longstanding relations between Tehran and Madrid, and called for expansion of relations between the two states in all fields.
The two top diplomats also called for expansion of cooperation between Iran and Spain in tourism, environment, energy, advanced technologies, transportation, and academic fields. They also exchanged views on regional developments.
At the end of the meeting, Zarif and Dastis signed memorandums of understanding to expand bilateral ties and political consultations. The railway officials of Iran and Spain also inked an MoU on development of cooperation in rail transportation.
Spanish foreign minister arrived in Iran on Tuesday at the head of a high-ranking politico-economic delegation for a two-day visit. He also held talks with President Rouhani on bilateral and regional issues.