Arab League chief Amr Moussa yesterday urged Arab nations to come together with Iran for talks on issues of regional concern, including Tehran's nuclear efforts, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Dec. 23).
(Dec. 24) -
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa is seeking a greater role for Iran's neighbors to influence the nation's nuclear ambitions (Getty Images).
Leading Arab officials have not previously urged such diplomacy with Iran. Largely Sunni Muslim states worry about the growing influence of Shiite Iran and its role in Iraq and with militant organizations such as Hezbollah, according to AP.
"Time has come for an Arab-Iranian dialogue which should include all issues," Moussa said. "We have differences and problems but these can be solved because Iran is an important country."
The future of the region should not be left to Iran and the nations conducting diplomacy on its nuclear program -- China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, Moussa said.
"It is not their right to talk about the region's issues without everybody present," he said (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, Dec. 23).
Meanwhile, former British Ambassador to Iran Richard Dalton said that while the International Atomic Energy Agency has found no proof that Iran is conducting nuclear weapons development operations, cause for concern remains, Mathaba.Net News reported yesterday.
"In the same way as Iran lacks trust in the negotiators, the six powers do not fully trust Iran's declarations because of the history and because of the fact that this terribly important question of the weaponization studies remains unresolved and Iran is not helping [IAEA Director General Mohamed] ElBaradei to solve it," Dalton told the Islamic Republic News Agency.
Tehran says its nuclear work is strictly civilian in nature, but Western nations worry about uranium enrichment activities that could be used to produce weapons material.
Diplomacy on the matter has become deadlocked five years after Tehran acknowledged operating secret nuclear activities, Dalton said. He rejected Iran's claims that the U.N. nuclear watchdog has settled all outstanding questions about the nature of Iran's program.
"You are misquoting ElBaradei," Dalton said. "Some Iranians have alleged that ElBaradei said that. But read the last two reports more carefully where he says that the crucial matter which I mentioned in my intervention of the alleged weaponization studies remains open and Iran is not cooperating in seeking a resolution of those questions."
"it is simply and purely the duty of Iran under its safeguards agreement" to cooperate with the IAEA investigation, Dalton said.
"On the one hand Iran claims that it reserves the right under the international law and the IAEA to have an enrichment program. On the other, Iran says we have no intention observing international law respecting the U.N. Security Council and our obligations as a member of the Security Council," he said (Mathaba.Net News, Dec. 23).