“We are concerned about the conditions surrounding Iran’s nuclear issue. The matter should be resolved peacefully,” Lavrov said after a Monday meeting with the United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.
Lavrov, reiterated his country’s commitment to restoring peace and stability in the Middle East and warned, “Any military means should be excluded” from the Western agenda on Iran’s nuclear program.
Similar warnings were issued by Germany on Sunday, when its Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere cautioned Israel against any military adventurism against the Islamic Republic as such an effort against Tehran would be highly unlikely to succeed.
Washington and Tel Aviv have repeatedly threatened Tehran with the "option" of a military strike, based on the allegation that Iran's nuclear program may include a covert military aspect.
In a January address, US President Barack Obama said "America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal.”
Earlier this month, the Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak also said if Western sanctions against Iran fail to stop its nuclear program, military action against the country must be placed on the agenda.
Iran has categorically refuted the allegations over its nuclear program, saying that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is entitled to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has demanded the elimination of a military option to the so-called Western concerns over Iran’s nuclear program, calling instead for diplomatic solution.
News ID 181489
