Mottaki: Iranian people prefer dialogue to violence

Tehran, Aug 6, IRNA - Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Tuesday that the civilized Iranian nation has always preferred dialogue to violence and rough behavior throughout history.

Mottaki made the remarks in a meeting with outgoing Australian
Ambassador to Tehran Grigory Lawrence Moriarty on the completion of
his tenure in Tehran.

According to the Information and Press Bureau of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, at the meeting, Mottaki said the US seeks to foment
psychological warfare to increase its unilateral hegemony, domination
and exploitation of natural resources in this very rich region.

"Much to our regret the US has closed its eyes to some realities in
the region such as those regimes in the region who possess nuclear
weapons which are regarded as source of threat for the entire region,"
Mottaki said.

It is not justified for the West to force defenseless Palestinians to
compensate for their losses resulting from World War II, he underlined.

The outgoing Australian ambassador, for his part, called Iran a big
and significant country in the region and thanked the Iranian official
for supporting his country.

Canberra attaches great respect to and values Iranian people, he said.

Highlighting continued talks between Iran and the West on Iran's
peaceful nuclear program, he expressed hope that the issue would be
resolved through peaceful means.

The outgoing ambassador also called the role of Iran in Iraq and
Afghanistan as very important and lauded the efforts of Iranian
officials in their campaign against drug trafficking and supporting
Afghan war refugees and displaced.