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NUKEWARS
UN finds no evidence Iran seeks nuclear arms: Rouhani
by Staff Writers
Tehran (AFP) March 02, 2014


Iran says troops abducted, taken to Pakistan, now free
Tehran (AFP) March 01, 2014 - Five Iranian soldiers who were abducted in early February by Sunni extremists and taken across the border into Pakistan have been released, the army's deputy chief of staff said Saturday.

They were kidnapped in the restive southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, scene of unrest in recent years by the Jaish-ul Adl militant group.

"The five Iranian soldiers kidnapped and taken to Pakistan have been freed," said General Massoud Jazayeri in remarks carried by the Fars news agency.

Jazayeri gave no further details about the release of the soldiers.

But earlier on Saturday, Pakistani officials said they had rescued 11 kidnapped foreigners -- eight Iranians, two Tunisians and one Yemeni -- in the southwest town of Turbat near the Iranian border.

The security officials told AFP that those freed did not include the Iranian soldiers.

Their abduction infuriated authorities in the Shiite Islamic republic of Iran, and strained relations between the neighbouring states.

Iran warned in mid-February that it could send troops across the border to secure the release of the kidnapped soldiers, and denounced what it called Pakistan's inability to secure its own borders.

The foreign minister summoned a senior Pakistani diplomat and demanded that Islamabad "act firmly against the leaders and members of the terrorist group who have fled to Pakistan", media reported at the time.

Jaish-ul Adl, whose name in Arabic means Army of Justice, was formed in 2012 and has since claimed several operations targeting Iranians in Sistan-Baluchestan.

Last November it said it assassinated a local prosecutor, and the previous month claimed an ambush that killed 14 Iranian border guards.

In response, Iranian authorities executed eight Sunni insurgents and eight drug traffickers, describing all 16 as "rebels".

President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday that despite "thousands of hours" of inspection, the UN's atomic watchdog has found no evidence of military objectives in Iran's nuclear drive.

His remarks came on the eve of an International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors meeting in Vienna, on the sidelines of which Iran will hold expert-level talks with world powers.

Western powers "all know that nuclear science in Iran follows a peaceful path", Rouhani said in a speech broadcast on state television.

"The agency has conducted thousands of hours of inspection, and announced it has not found any diversion from the peaceful use (of nuclear technology) to military purposes."

In its latest report on Iran in late February, the IAEA said Iran was sticking to a nuclear freeze it agreed under a November interim deal with world powers.

The watchdog's report came a month after the deal came into force.

Iran and the so-called P5+1 group of world powers are seeking to reach a lasting accord that would allay Western suspicions that Tehran's nuclear activities mask military objectives.

As part of such a comprehensive deal, the six seek to pressure Iran over its ballistic missile programme, which could theoretically provide Tehran with a device to deliver a nuclear warhead, should it choose to build one.

Rouhani on Sunday defended the programme, saying it has "always been defensive in nature, and will always remain so".

On Saturday, Rouhani had called for calm amid provocative rhetoric from Iranian hardliners.

"Sometime one does not seek war but talks as if one does, and this is seen as a threat to other parties. This is an unnecessary provocation," he told military personnel and defence ministry officials.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran's foreign policy is based on detente and building trust," he added.

Since taking office in August, Rouhani has vowed to rebuild strained relations with the West.

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New Delhi (AFP) Feb 27, 2014
Iran's nuclear negotiations are "going well", Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Thursday, ahead of a crucial meetings to negotiate a comprehensive nuclear deal. Iran and a group of world powers agreed last week on a timetable and framework for the negotiations for an accord that would allay Western concerns about Iran's nuclear programme in return for the lifting of crippling sancti ... read more


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