Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is in New York to take part in the 2015 NPT Review Conference, met high-ranking international officials and foreign ministers on Monday on the sidelines of the event, IRNA reported.
In a meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano, the two officials discussed the latest status of bilateral cooperation.
Pointing to the role of the IAEA in finalizing a prospective nuclear deal between Tehran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany), Zarif said the course of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the six major powers “thoroughly evaluates the credibility of the IAEA.”
“Achieving success (in reaching a final nuclear agreement) calls for increased engagement on the part of IAEA officials as well as taking practical and effective steps to this end,” he added.
Amano, for his part, expressed pleasure with Iran’s constructive collaboration with the IAEA as well as the progress made in nuclear negotiations between Iran and the six powers, saying the UN nuclear agency is determined to play an efficient role to help resolve the outstanding issues in this regard.
Backing Peaceful Solutions
In a separate meeting with UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura, Zarif expressed readiness on behalf of the Islamic Republic to back “any peaceful initiative” introduced by the envoy to bring stability back to the crisis-hit Arab country.
The foreign minister also voiced concern over the negative intentions of certain countries which seek to intensify the conflict in Syria.
De Mistura, in turn, highlighted Iran’s key role in the Middle East, saying ignoring the role of the Islamic Republic in addressing the crisis in Syria was “a serious mistake.”
The senior Iranian diplomat also expressed his views about the latest developments in Yemen and Syria in a meeting with Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Jan Eliasson.
Calling for holding national dialogue in Yemen, Zarif underlined the important role the UN has to play to facilitate such negotiations.
The two officials also discussed the latest developments in Syria and exchanged views on peaceful solutions for the crisis in the war-torn country. Zarif briefed the UN official on the latest developments in nuclear talks with the major powers. Eliasson expressed pleasure with the trend of the negotiations.
In addition, the foreign minister held separate talks with foreign ministers of Algeria, Japan and Egypt, namely Ramtane Lamamra, Fumio Kishida and Sameh Shoukry, on the latest international and regional developments as well as bilateral ties.
