‘Prospects of Iran-EU ties promising’

An Iranian diplomat says promising prospects have been created for the promotion of Iran™s ties with the European Union following President Hassan Rouhani™s visit to New York for an annual UN meeting.

Iran™s Ambassador to Vienna Hassan Tajik pointed on Saturday to the meetings between President Rouhani and European leaders and officials on the sidelines of the 68th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York, saying, œWe think that the EU can play a more active and responsible role and pay more attention to dialog and eventually cooperation.”

œUnder the existing circumstances, we see a good prospect for the expansion of ties,” he said.

The Iranian diplomat noted that the West must lift the existing sanctions against Iran to show a tangible change in its behavior.

The United States, Israel and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program, with the US and European Union using the claim as an excuse to impose illegal sanctions against Tehran.

Iran has categorically rejected the allegation, stressing that as a committed member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) it is entitled to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

Tajik argued that aside from the economic areas, Iran and the EU can expand their cooperation with respect to the numerous interests that they share, including the fight against narcotics, organized crime, terrorism, and the areas of asylum seekers, energy, human rights and other regional issues.

ASH/HJL