I would like to draw your attention to the remarks attributed to you in an interview with the Washington Post on 14 February 2013 entitled "Iran could use UN talks as cover to build bomb, Ban Ki-moon says". In this regard, I would like to make the following points:
1. If the report of Washington Post is accurate, it would be very unfortunate that the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in contravention of his mandate and against the well-established international principles, apparently has taken a position to the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear activities. In the past few days, some western officials have made inappropriate statements on this issue. Unfortunately, the distinguished Secretary General by taking the same position has risked damaging his credibility before the eyes of the Member States.
2. In the same interview, Washington Post mentions that the Secretary-General has made a reference to his trip to Iran (your Excellency's trip in August 2012) and it claims that you were not satisfied with the assurances of the Iranian high officials on Iran's peaceful nuclear activities. This reference seems to be incorrect because I was present in all your meetings with the high officials. Therefore, it is a matter of surprise that the content of the discussions you had with my officials was presented in a distorted and manipulated way.
3. It is more surprising that the article takes the words of the Secretary-General and insinuates that the United Nations Security Council should "show a firm, decisive and effective, quick response" vis-à-vis Iran's nuclear activities. Again, if this narration is true, it was not indeed expected from the Secretary-General, rather what is expected from him is that he should be more observant of the principles of reliability and fairness and to use his good offices aimed at resolving the international crisis and disputes only through diplomacy, dialogue and peaceful means.
4. As you are aware Iran and 5+1 countries are about to resume their talks scheduled to take place on 26 February 2013 in Kazakhstan. At this sensitive juncture, such a position by the Secretary-General goes contrary to the spirit that should prevail before the talks; in order to help the parties to make progress in resolving their differences.
I look forward to working closely with you to address this issue of great concern. Undoubtedly, integrity, transparency, and fairness are key premises on which the Secretary-General should base its approach in discharging its Charter-mandated responsibilities. Our efforts should be directed towards rendering the United Nations more in helping Member States in their joint efforts to solve the global issues in a responsive and accountable manner. I would stand ready to contribute to the achievement of these goals.
