FM: Iran wants to open new chapter with neighbors

Visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said here on Sunday his country seeks to open a new chapter of relations with the region's countries. Speaking at a joint news conference with Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Zarif said Iran attaches much attention to relations with its neighboring countries, saying Kuwait, thanks to its wise policies, enjoys wide ties with the region's countries, especially Iran. He said Iran and Kuwait share the same future, hoping that both sides' mass media would play a constructive role in the promotion of understanding among the region's countries. On Tehran's nuclear deal with the P5+1 group, he said the deal was promulgated in a joint statement and hoped it would lead to the fulfillment of its goals. But, he urged the "other party" to show goodwill and to seek to wipe out mistrust between Tehran and the West, primarily the US. He confirmed that the nuclear agreement was not against any other country in the country, reassuring that his country would never take any step against Gulf countries. However, the Iranian foreign minister called on the West to take confidence-building steps with the Iranian people, rejecting possible dictations from anybody. Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - the US, Britain, Russia, France, and China - plus Germany had sealed an interim hard-won deal in Geneva. The main points of the deal include that Iran is to limit its uranium enrichment to 5 percent within the next six months, and also abandon development of nuclear fuel production at Natanz, Fordow, and Arak facilities. The deal also states a gradual easing of sanctions and that no additional sanctions be imposed on the nation, and also indicates that some USD 400 million of Iranian funds abroad are to be freed. The embargo on purchase of gold and precious metals is also to be lifted as well as embargos on the auto industry, petrochemicals, and repair of civilian Iranian aircraft abroad. On his planned visit to Riyadh, he said no final date was set for the tour, but hailed Saudi Arabia as a significant and influential country in the Arabian Gulf region. On Syria, he said it is up to the Syrian people themselves to take the final decision on the future of their country, but he urged influential parties concerned to help in resolving the political crisis in this Arab nation. He reiterated that the political option should be the only way to put an end to the current political crisis in Syria. He also spoke highly of the outcomes of his recent visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), saying that his country would continue talks with the UAE on the issue of the three islands. The Iranian foreign minister, on the other hand, said his country had named its new ambassador to Kuwait, hoping that bilateral relations would be seriously developed. On the detention of a Kuwaiti citizen in Iran, he said the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was playing some part to resolve this issue.