UN should condemn Israel’s threats against Iran: Ahmadinejad

TEHRAN,Sept.25(MNA) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held a meeting with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York on Sunday. Ahmadinejad arrived in New York on the same day to attend the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, which opened at the UN Headquarters on September 18 and closes on October 1. During Sunday’s meeting, Ahmadinejad and Ban discussed the latest regional and international developments. Ahmadinejad commented on the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, saying that the persistence of the current situation would not be beneficial and cooperation is required to allay concerns of the parties involved. On the threats of military action being issued by the Zionist regime against Iran over its nuclear program, he stated, “The Islamic Republic of Iran does not believe in responding threats with threats, but the Zionist regime should not be praised for threatening Iran, and it is good that these threats be condemned.” Ahmadinejad added that the Islamic Republic is fully prepared to defend itself, and said, “No one should be deceived by the Zionists, and the situation that allow the Zionist regime to threaten other countries with military attack every day should be remedied. And new problems should not be created given the various problems of our region.” Elsewhere in his remarks, the president of Iran, which holds the rotating presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement for a three-year term, emphasized the necessity of enhancing cooperation between NAM and the UN, saying, “Effective steps should be taken to reform the structure of the United Nations to establish a more democratic and fair structure at this organization, according to which the General Assembly and the secretary general would have enough authority to carry out their missions.” On the situation in Syria, he noted, “The conflicts in Syria should be stopped as soon as possible, and everyone should help initiate the process of talks based on justice between various parties in Syria.” The UN secretary general described Iran as one of the few countries that have an effective role in resolving the situation in Syria and asked Iran to cooperate with Lakhdar Brahimi, who is the new UN-Arab League joint special envoy on Syria. Commenting on the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, Ban said that it can be resolved through technical talks. He also stated that issuing threats against other countries by anyone and under any pretext is unacceptable. In addition, Ban thanked Tehran for its successful hosting of the NAM summit from August 26 to 31, adding that the meeting he held with Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on August 29 was special and memorable.