Tehran deplores Arabs' involvement in nuclear dispute

Dec 22, 2008, 7:45 GMT

Tehran - Tehran on Monday deplored a plan by the United Nations' five veto powers plus Germany to involve some Arab states in talks over the nuclear dispute with Iran.

'This will be again like a soulless theatre and the performance doomed to fail,' Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi told reporters in Tehran.

The spokesman was referring to a plan by the five permanent United Nations Security Council member states - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - plus Germany to also involve the Arab states in their meetings on Iran's controversial nuclear programmes.

The spokesman said that the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear projects had several times been confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and there was no need for such meetings.

There had also been reports that the six states involved in nuclear talks with Iran had assured Arab countries that they would maintain pressure on Iran over its nuclear ambitions.

Iran insists its nuclear programmes are solely for peaceful purposes and therefore considers pursuing a civil nuclear programme, including the controversial uranium enrichment process, as its legitimate right in line with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The West and some Arab countries such as Egypt, however, fear that Iran might use the same technology for a secret military programme and become a threat to the Middle East and Persian Gulf region.