Russia's foreign minister warns against use of force on Iran

MOSCOW: Russia's foreign minister on Friday warned against the use of force on
Iran, saying there is no proof it is trying to build nuclear weapons.
Sergey Lavrov said Iran should be engaged in dialogue and encouraged to cooperate with the U.N. nuclear monitoring agency.
Lavrov made the statement when asked to comment on an Israeli
Cabinet member's statement earlier this month that Israel could attack
Iran if it does not halt its nuclear program.
"I hope the actual actions would be based on international law,"
Lavrov said. "And international law clearly protects Iran's and anyone
else's territorial integrity."
Israel's military refused to confirm or deny a report Friday that
its warplanes staged a major rehearsal this month for a possible attack
on Iran
The New York Times report quoted U.S. officials as saying more than
100 Israeli F-16s and F-15s staged the maneuver over the eastern
Mediterranean and Greece in the first week of June. It said the
aircraft flew more than 900 miles (1,450 kilometers), roughly the
distance from Israel to Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, and
that the exercise included refueling tankers and helicopters capable of
rescuing downed pilots.
Lavrov said Russia had asked both the United States and Israel to
provide factual information to back their claims that Iran was working
to build atomic weapons. "So far we have seen none, and the same
conclusion was made by the International Atomic Energy Agency," he said.
"It's absolutely not right to speak matter-of-factly that Iran continues building nuclear weapons," Lavrov added.
Iran insists its enrichment program is meant only to generate
electricity. But because of its past clandestine activities, including
some that could have applications for weapons research, the
international community is concerned that Tehran wants to enrich
uranium to a purity suitable for use in atomic bombs.
The IAEA suggested in a report to the U.N. Security Council last
month that Iran was stonewalling investigators and possibly withholding
information crucial to determining whether it conducted research on
nuclear weapons.
Lavrov insisted that Iran must be encouraged to continue its cooperation with the U.N. monitoring agency.
"As long as the IAEA reports to us progress in its relations with
Iran, as long as Iran closes the issues which were of concern to the
IAEA and this process continues, we should avoid any steps which could
undermine this very important process," he said, speaking in English.
Russia has maintained close ties with Iran and is building its first
nuclear power plant in the southern port of Bushehr, which is expected
to go on line later this year. It has backed limited U.N. sanctions
aimed at forcing Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment program, but
has opposed the U.S. push for harsher measures.
"The key to resolving the Iranian issue is involvement," Lavrov
said. "We must involve Iran, engage Iran in resolving the Iranian
nuclear program, ... but also engage Iran in constructive, respectful,
serious dialogue on Iraq and Afghanistan, on the Middle East
in general."