Brussels, 11/02/2010 (Agence Europe) - Iran must restore the transparency of its nuclear programme by providing the IAEA with “full, clear and credible answers”, the European Parliament states in a resolution adopted on Wednesday 10 February in Strasbourg. Although MEPs recognise Iran's right to develop the nuclear option for peaceful purposes, they deplore the fact that Tehran has again rejected all attempts to achieve a compromise on the nuclear issue and that “the Iranian regime is apparently seeking to use this issue both as a means of distracting attention from the crisis in the country and as a tactic to win time and avoid discussion in the UN Security Council of further sanctions”. The latest declarations by President Ahmadinejad are “part of these tactics”, MEPs say, also considering that the EU should initiate “serious debate on the possibility of introducing further targeted sanctions which do not harm the Iranian people as a whole”. The EP supports the recent statements by Catherine Ashton and other European officials whereby the next stage should be to take the debate before the Security Council before February is out.
The EP also expresses its concern about the nature of the military demonstrations held in front of the European embassies in Tehran on 9 February, and call on the Iranian authorities to ensure the safety of the personnel of the diplomatic missions there. The resolution also deplores the fact that Tehran cancelled the visit by a delegation of MEPs planned for January, as well as the fact that the Iranian government and parliament “are apparently incapable of responding to the justified demands of Iranian citizens, in particular the young generation”. MEPs trust that the EU will ban exports to Iran of surveillance technology that could be used by the government to violate freedom of expression. The EP points out to the Iranian authorities that, in order to develop fruitful relations with the EU, Iran must guarantee fundamental human rights and respect of the principles of democracy, freedom of expression and rule of law. The possible conclusion of an EU/Iran cooperation and trade agreement is conditional upon respect of such values, strict respect of the IAEA and UN Security Council resolutions, as well as the provision of objective guarantees regarding the peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear programme and a halt to Iran's support for terrorism, MEPs stress. (H.B./transl.jl)