Iran Envoy Hails Co-op Of Caspian Sea Littoral States

Dushanbe, Oct 1, IRNA – Iranian ambassador to Kazakhstan Qorban Seifi said on Monday that the Caspian Sea littoral states have made good achievements in cooperation over the issues related to the Sea. In an interview with a Kazakh newspaper, Seifi said all the Caspian Sea littoral states are opposed to the presence of foreign countries in the region, adding that they regularly hold meetings to address major concerns including security and environment of the Caspian Sea and the measures the neighboring states must observe to stem degradation of the environment. Four Caspian Sea countries have signed Tehran Convention on protecting the environment, Seifi said, adding they have agreed upon maintenance of the environment in fishing and shipping in the landlocked Sea. The Iranian new government, in its new efforts to constructively interact with the world gives priority to neighboring countries, particularly Kazakhstan, the ambassador said. On the arbitrary sanctions imposed by the western governments on Iran over the nuclear dispute, the ambassador said that in line with the guidelines of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran is pursuing the policy of “resistance economy” which is based on domestic capabilities. He said that it is wrong to say that the sanctions were imposed by the international community, they are rather imposed by the US and its European allies under the false pretext that Iranian nuclear program may be a cover for developing nuclear weapons. He reiterated that a large number of countries around the world, including the members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) have supported Iran’s peaceful nuclear program. The ambassador said that Ayatollah Khamenei has issued a Fatwa (religious edict) banning the production and use of nuclear weapons. Elsewhere in his remarks, he referred to the presence of Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev in the inauguration ceremony of President Hassan Rohani on August 4 as a sign of good relations between the two countries. He called for enhanced ties between Iran and Kazakhstan as the two big, Muslim neighboring countries and influential in the region./end