Ban says Iran has crucial role to play in resolving Syrian crisis

TEHRAN,Aug.30(MNA) – United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called Iran a major player capable of mediating in regional issues, including the Syrian crisis, AP reported. “Iran has a crucially important role in the region, especially when it comes to Syria. I am going to discuss this with (the) Supreme Leader,” Ban told reporters in Tehran on Wednesday after a meeting with Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani, Al Jazeera reported. Ban arrived in the Iranian capital on the same day to attend the meetings of the heads of state and government of the Non-Aligned Movement, which are scheduled to be held on Thursday and Friday. Farhan Haq, the associate spokesperson for the UN secretary general, told reporters on Tuesday, “The secretary general looks forward to the summit as an opportunity to work with the participating heads of state and government, including the host country, towards solutions on issues that are central to the global agenda, including follow-up to the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, disarmament, conflict prevention, and support for countries in transition.” “With respect to the Islamic Republic of Iran, the secretary general will use the opportunity to convey the clear concerns and expectations of the international community on the issues for which cooperation and progress are urgent… These include Iran’s nuclear program, terrorism, human rights, and the crisis in Syria,” he added. Asked what Ban would do to prevent any threat of attack on Iran, Haq noted that the UN secretary general will underscore, as he has on many occasions, that it is in Iran’s interest to take concrete steps to build international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program. That includes Iran’s full compliance with the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors, he stated. At the same time, the UN secretary general continues to emphasize that the Iranian nuclear issue can be resolved only by diplomatic and peaceful means, the UN spokesman added. Iran hopes Ban will prevent tyrants from creating turmoil in the region: Larijani After a meeting with the UN secretary general, Larijani told reporters, “Unfortunately, certain major countries are constantly taking acts of adventurism in the region and create a kind of chaos in the region, such as the one that we are witnessing in Syria.” “I have announced that Iran always supports the process of democratization in the region as it has pursued the same policy in Egypt and Libya. But in Syria, certain major countries and regional countries have not allowed any opportunity to be provided for the establishment of democracy, which is a great mistake,” he stated. “We hope that Mr. Secretary General will prevent the tyrannical countries from creating turmoil in the region,” he added. Commenting on Ban’s visit to Tehran, Larijani said, “We are happy that Mr. Secretary General has come to Iran. Although he had traveled to Iran in the past, he was not holding this post. Now that he is present (in Iran) as the secretary general of the United Nations, which has been created for the promotion of peace in the world, this provides a good opportunity for us to hold talks with him about regional issues.” He also said, “Mr. Ban Ki-moon has expressed interest in attending the parliament.” Elsewhere in his remarks, Larijani said that the situation in Bahrain was discussed during his meeting with the UN secretary general. Ban held a meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the same day.