Persian Gulf best route for energy transfer: Asefi
Addressing domestic and foreign reporters at his weekly press conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi added, "Transfer of commodities or energy has its own logic. It follows up an economic logic. Therefore, the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz will be the best way in this respect.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Persian Gulf littoral states have good cooperation in various fields. The transfer of energy can also be put on the agenda in line with such cooperation."
Asefi added, "As for transfer of energy, we have received no official offer. There were certain topics published by the media."
Talks with U.S. not on Iran's agenda
Asefi noted that talks with the U.S. are not on Iran's agenda for the time being.
He made the remark in response to a question about the proposal of the Leader of the United Iraqi Alliance and Leader of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) Abdul Aziz Hakim for Iran-U.S. talks over Iraq and the report of a media claiming that such talks are about to start in Germany.
In response to the proposed appointment of an ambassador to Palestine by Iran, he said that this needs to be examined accurately and comprehensively, adding that the Foreign Ministry will declare its view on it after thorough assessment, given the sensitivity of the issue.
Asked whether Palestine will also be discussed during the meeting of the foreign ministers of Iraq's neighboring countries, Egypt and the Organization of the Islamic Conference member states (July 8-9), he said that various issues will be on the agenda of the event.
"Though it will be mainly centered on Iraq, any gathering of Muslims, including the one to be held in Tehran, obviously approaches the Palestinian issue as well.”
About the outcome of the recent meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), he referred to the fact that Iran's nuclear issue is actually being examined by two international bodies and said, "Iran has called for the settlement of the matter and its return to the Board of Governors, where it should be assessed.
"We believe that legally the view of the IAEA Board of Governors on the issue should be taken into consideration."
Asefi said that at the recent meeting of the board, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) member states declared their strong support for Iran.
"The international consensus to defend Iran is now clear to the world. Meanwhile, the U.S. has been cornered.
"The recent Board of Governors meeting just focused on the IAEA chief's report, given that representatives of various countries, including some U.S. allies, did not agree with it. Many complained about the lengthy process of examination of Iran's nuclear issue, which is a simple and obvious case," added the spokesman.
Asefi said that Iran will use its diplomatic capacities to solve the issue, adding that the country's determination to continue its sincere, clear and honest cooperation with the agency has been declared.
Asefi hopes for talks with Europe without preconditions
The spokesman expressed hope talks with Europe would be held without any preconditions.
He underlined that Iran will not give up its right to access nuclear energy, adding that talks should be based on mutual respect and compliance with norms.
The spokesman said that it is impossible to set a precondition for talks without considering the views of the negotiators.
"Europe should not think that its respects for our rights will be a violation of its prestige. On the contrary, if Europeans respect our reasonable international rights, this will raise their own reputation," he added.
Concerning the outcome of the visit of the Secretary of Iran Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani to Egypt, he said that the outcome of his talks with President Hosni Mubarak and other Egyptian officials was positive.
"A positive atmosphere dominated the talks and Egypt supported our nuclear stance. We believe that this will even have a positive effect on bilateral ties," added Asefi.