Brazil and Turkey defend their Iranian swap deal

Yesterday, Brazil’s foreign minister, Celso Amorim, and the Turkish foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoghu, sent a joint letter to the members of the United Nations Security Council in which they assure them that the Iranian fuel swap deal brokered by Brazil and Turkey is trustworthy. The letter goes on to request that the council reject further sanctions against Iran.

Amorim and Davutoghu claim that the nuclear fuel swap agreement reached in Tehran is a significant advance in that it represents a non-confrontational, peaceful solution to the impasse created by the Iranian nuclear program.

Part of the letter says: “…We recognize the right to develop research, productionh and use of nuclear energy for peaceful ends, while emphasizing our strong conviction that the nuclear fuel swap is an opportunity to begin a process for the creation of a positive and constructive future in an atmosphere that is non-confrontational that will lead to an era of interaction and cooperation.”

Meanwhile, the official Iranian news agency, Irna, reports that a senior advisor to president Ahmadinejad, Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi, declared that the draft resolution in favor of sanctions presented by the United States and now supported by the other permanent members, England, France, Russia and China, is simply “illegitimate.”

Hashemi pointed out that Iran is a signatory nation to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and as such does not have intentions to build an atomic weapon. He also said that Iran has permitted constant inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“There is constant monitoring of Iranian nuclear installations, like clockwork, in accordance with IAEA safeguards. Iran and the IAEA have signed a draft plan to deal with any and all pending issues. The IAEA has verified that our national nuclear program is for civilian purposes.”

And back in Brazil, the vice president, José Alencar, says he believes Iran is acting in goodwill when it says it will comply with the deal brokered by Brazil and Turkey. “Brazil did the right thing. We showed the world once again that we are in favor of peace,” said Alencar.

[Note: In December 2006 the UN Security Council unanimously voted sanctions against Iran because the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) declared that it was unable to “clarify Iran’s nuclear ambitions,” because Iran was not permitting IAEA inspectors access to its nuclear facilities. In March 2007 and in March 2008, the Security Council again voted sanctions against Iran for the same reasons. No one knows exactly what Iran’s nuclear plans are because, among other things, IAEA inspectors are still not permitted free access to its nuclear program.]