Iranian official lashes out at US, EU

Nov 16, 2011, 17:33 GMT

New York - Javad Larijani, an Iranian politician and legislator, lashed out at the United States and some European countries Wednesday for unfairly targeting his country on human rights and nuclear issues.

The Iranian mission to the United Nations announced Larijani's press conference at UN headquarters in New York, promising a focus on human rights. But the official used the occasion to denounce the US and European allies, particularly on nuclear issues.

He said Iran has the best human rights records.

Larijani said the US and European countries, which he did not name, used the dispute on Iran's nuclear programme, to 'create fear and hostility of Iran in the Middle East.'

'They don't want to settle the nuclear issue, they use the issue to pressure Iran,' he said. 'Iran is the only country in the Middle East with advanced and sophisticated nuclear technology and our investment in nuclear technology has no limits in order to make progress.'

'There is no single evidence to conclude that Iran is pursuing military objectives in its nuclear programme,' said Larijani, who currently is a senior adviser to the head of Iran's Judiciary and secretary general of the High Council for Human Rights.

Germany, France, Britain and the US had been holding talks with Iran to resolve the dispute over the latter's advanced uranium enrichment plans.

He rejected as unfounded a recent report of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which warned that Iran has nuclear weapons capability.

Read more about UN