Former Pakistani diplomat supports Iran's peaceful nuclear program

Iran has been following an independent policy regarding the nuclear program and Pakistan would always support Iran whatever decision it takes over the issue.

“Iran is our brother and we sympathize with Iran, we will always stand by Iran in difficult times”, he maintained.

Iran being the signatory of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) can use nuclear energy for peaceful means, yet the US and west have been suspecting on Iran’s nuclear program, saying that Iran is trying to build an atomic bomb, which Tehran has strongly denied.

Commenting on the statement of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Iran is willing to send its uranium abroad, Tariq Fatemi said that Iranian President has made the statement keeping in view the interest of his country but Pakistan will always support Iran over the nuclear issue.

“There is really no problem. Some made a fuss for nothing. There is no problem. We sign a contract. We give them (world powers) 3.5 per cent (enriched uranium) and it will take four or five months for them to give us the 20 per cent (enriched uranium),” President Ahmadinejad said.

Tariq Fatemi, said that Pakistan is 100 percent with the government and people of Iran.

Western powers have warned Iran that if it wants to avoid new sanctions then time is running out to accept a UN-brokered deal to swap its enriched uranium for nuclear fuel.

Under the draft deal, most of Iran's existing low-grade enriched uranium would be shipped to Russia and France, where it would be processed into fuel rods with the purity of 20 percent.

The higher-level enriched uranium would be transported back to Iran to be used in the research reactors.

As a close ally of Iran with oil interests in the country, China -- a permanent member of the UN Security Council -- is reluctant to isolate Iran, which is already under three sets of UN sanctions over its nuclear program.

The P5-plus-1 met in New York on January 16 but reached no decision on further sanctions against Iran.

China sent a lower level official to the talks attended by the political directors of the State Department and foreign ministries of the other four countries.

Tariq Fatemi is a former Pakistani career diplomat who is currently working as a political analyst, apart from appearing regularly on television on a variety of political talk shows.

During his diplomatic career, Fatemi had served as Pakistan Ambassador to the United States.

/Irna News/