Iran Seeks UN Help to Free Abducted Border Guards

No Sign of Abducted Guards in Pakistan - PAK Foreign Ministry

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif today asked for help from the United Nations to secure the release of the abducted Iranian border guards.

In an urgent plea sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday. Zarif said, “Mere condemnation of acts of terrorism is not enough,” and asked for concrete actions by the UN and the international community to free the guards. [Facebook (Zarif)/AFP, 27 March]

The Baluch militant group Jaish-ul Adl abducted five frontier guards on 6 February and said this week that it has executed one of them. Ban on Tuesday condemned the killing as an “appalling act” and urged that the perpetrators be brought to justice. (AFP, 27 March)

Meanwhile, Pakistan said today that there are no signs of abducted Iranian guards in Pakistan.

“Our authorities have combed Pakistani territory in search of missing Iranian guards, however, there are no clues that they are in Pakistan,” said Pakistani Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasnim Aslam, adding that the body of one of the guards reportedly killed by his captors was not found on Pakistani territory. (AAP, 27 March)

Aslam also said Pakistan is “neither apologetic with Iran” and nor wants that Iran will have “aggressive attitude.”.

The guards are believed to have been transferred to the Pakistani side of Baluchistan Iran on several occasions, and as late as yesterday, has hinted of a military incursion into Pakistan to free them.

UN Statement on Revoking Invitation to Iran for Geneva II

The United Nations today revoked its invitation to Iran to attend the Geneva II conference on Syria. The following are statements by the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General of the United Nations on today’s developments:

“In that spirit, in a series of meetings and telephone conversations, senior Iranian officials assured the Secretary-General that Iran understood and supported the basis and goal of the Conference, including the Geneva Communiqué.  The Secretary-General is deeply disappointed by Iranian public statements today that are not at all consistent with that stated commitment.  He continues to urge Iran to join the global consensus behind the Geneva Communiqué.  Given that it has chosen to remain outside that basic understanding, he has decided that the one-day Montreux gathering will proceed without Iran’s participation.

The Secretary-General looks forward to joining the initiating parties -- the Russian Federation and the United States -- as well as the other States and organizations that will attend this long-awaited and hugely important push for peace.  The Syrian parties, the region and the international community have an opportunity and a responsibility to end the violence and begin a transition towards a new Syria.”

The UN News Center also reported that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had invited Iran to attend Geneva II after Foreign minister Javad Zarif “assured” him that Iran understands that the basis of talks is “full implementation of an action plan adopted in the Geneva Communiqué of 2012 (Geneva I).” (UN News Center, 20 January)

  

Earlier, the Iranian ambassador to the UN had issued a statement announcing that Iran would not attend Geneva II if required to accept Geneva I communiqué. Soon after the statement, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon withdrew his invitation to Iran.

File Photo: Flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran (center) at UN Headquarters. (thetower.org) 

UN Withdraws Invitation to Iran for Geneva II

The UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon has withdrawn his invitation to Iran to join this week’s Syria peace talks, the so-called Geneva II. The secretary general voiced his deep disappointment by Iran’s statement earlier today concerning Geneva II conference. (AP, 20 January)

The invitation was withdrawn shortly after Iran’s ambassador to the UN announced that Iran would not attend Geneva II if required to accept the Geneva I agreement of 2012.

A UN spokesman said senior Iranian officials have assured the Secretary General that Iran understood the terms of his invitation.

Meanwhile, the Syrian National Coalition announced that it will take part in Geneva II after the UN withdrew its invitation to Iran.

Photo credit: The UN Security Council, Monday 20 January 2014. (Craig Ruttle/AP)

U.N. Invites Iran to Attend Geneva II

Syrian National Coalition Threatens to Withdraw from Peace Talks

The United Nations Secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon today invited Iran to attend the Geneva II conference on Syrian conflict in the Swiss city of Montreux on Wednesday.

Ban told reporters at U.N. headquarters that he had issued the invitation to Iran after lengthy talks in recent days with Iranian Foreign Minister Javid Zarif.

“Foreign Minister Zarif and I agree that the goal of the negotiations is to establish, by mutual consent, a transitional governing body with full executive powers,” Ban said. “It was on that basis that Foreign Minister Zarif pledged that Iran would play a positive and constructive role in Montreux.”

The US State Department said it viewed the Secretary General's invitation to Iran “as conditioned on Iran's explicit and public support for the full implementation of the Geneva I communiqué, including the establishment of a transitional governing body.” (AP, 19 January)

UPDATE: The Syria National Coalition said today that it will withdraw from the peace talks unless Iran invitation was retracted by the U.N. (Reuters)

File photo: A 19-year old ISIS fighter in Syria. (@p_vanostaeyen/Twitter)

Iran To Address Concerns Over Nuclear Program – FM

‘A Victory for People of Iran’ – Mashreq News

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has reiterated Iran's readiness to address Western concerns over Iran's nuclear program.

“We are ready to take measures to remove the nuclear concerns [over] our country via mutually agreed international means (between Iran and the West); however, the recognition of our [nuclear] rights by the opposite side will be paramount,” Salehi said. (IRNA/Press TV, 28 February)

Salehi made the remarks in a meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Global Forum in Vienna on Wednesday.

Iran has hailed the new P5+1 offer presented during the talks in Almaty. The conservative Mashreq news called the offer “a victory for the people of Iran.” (mashreqnews, 28 February). Such declarations by conservative factions of the Islamic Republic are needed to pave the way for any future compromise with the West.

The P5+1 offer will reportedly call for the stoppage of the country’s 20-percent enrichment program. It allows Iran to keep limited amounts of its current inventory of 20-percent enriched fuel for use at Tehran’s research reactor. It does not require Iran to close Fordo underground enrichment facility, but allows it to enrich uranium at the facility at 3.5 percent purity only under the IAEA watch.

Meanwhile, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu urged Iran and the P5+1 to maintain their negotiations process, saying that the two sides made “tangible progress” in their latest round of talks in Almaty.

“We could say that this round of talks have brought about tangible progress on the negotiation over Iran's nuclear issue, which is beneficial to settling the dispute through dialogue,” said Ma, who heads the Chinese delegation in the talks between Iran and the P5+1.

Photo credit: Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi (L) shakes hands with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of the Fifth United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Global Forum in Vienna, 27 February 27 (Press TV)