AFP: Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Tuesday implicitly accused the United States of double standards on the issue of nuclear proliferation. OSLO, May 8, 2007 (AFP) – Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Tuesday implicitly accused the United States of double standards on the issue of nuclear proliferation.
“The countries who are the first users of nuclear weapons and are testing now the latest generation of nuclear weapons are claiming that Iran should not have nuclear weapons,” Mottaki told reporters in Oslo after meeting with his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Stoere.
“We are a major player in disarmament issues,” the minister said, adding: “We oppose nuclear weapons and believe they belong to the past.”
The United Nations has imposed sanctions on Iran after the regime refused to suspend uranium enrichment as part of its nuclear programme.
Iran says the programme is solely for peaceful energy needs but some Western countries, notably the United States, suspect that it is a cover for a nuclear weapons programme.
Norway’s foreign minister said the nuclear issue as well as the human rights situation in Iran and Iran’s position towards Israel constitute “considerable obstacles” in establishing closer bilateral relations between Norway and Iran.
“Iran has the right to develop nuclear energy, as do all countries. But the way it does it is quite rightly causing uncertainty in the international community,” the minister said.
Mottaki visited Stockholm on Monday where he was met by protests. In Oslo, a group of Iranian dissidents protested outside the foreign ministry.
Mottaki also met with Norwegian Energy Minister Odd Roger Enoksen to discuss oil issues, a meeting requested by the Iranian minister.
Norwegian oil companies Statoil and Norsk Hydro are involved in projects to develop oil fields in Iran despite the threat of US sanctions.
