The ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and five of their large neighbors endorsed the recent nuclear deal between Iran and major powers.
In a joint statement on Thursday, the foreign ministers of the ASEAN countries along with Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea welcomed the deal with Iran struck last month as an "important resolution" that could resolve one of the world's most pressing concerns if it is adhered to. The statement was issued on the final day of a Southeast Asian regional security forum in Malaysia.
If the deal is fully implemented, "the international community will be able to resolve this significant international security challenge, and to do so peacefully," said the statement, the AP reported.
It said the deal would "ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program."
Iran denies the charge that it may be seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capability, saying the work is solely for peaceful applications.
ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. Also signing the statement were China, Russia and the United States, which were involved in negotiating the agreement with Iran.
