LET'S LISTEN TO THE OTHER SIDE The Iranian Ambassador: The threats of a military attack against us are a joke

Reporter: Your Excellency, the state of the relations between Iran and the Western Countries is changing from one day to the next. How do you view things at this moment?

Bahador Aminian Jazi: Over he last few days (ed. note: last week), three standalone events occurred.

First of all, we made progress in the Iranian nuclear technology (ed. note: on Wednesday, February 15th, Tehran announced that it has successfully produced its own nuclear fuel enriched 20%, for its research reactor).

Second of all, a letter was sent by the head of the National Security Council of Iran to Catherine Ashton, the emissary of the 5+1 group (United States, China, Russia, France, Great Britain + Germany), which have proposed the resumption of the talks concerning the Iranian nuclear program as soon as possible, while at the same time honoring the right of Iran to peacefully use nuclear energy".

Also, talks were held with six European countries, about oil, in the context of the sanctions of the European Union.

Reporter: Did you stop the oil exports to the six European countries, like the media reported (ed. note: last week)?

Bahador Aminian Jazi: No! Iran made some conditions for these six countries which import from Iran. The EU has imposed some sanctions for the next six months (ed. note: the EU has approved sanctions on the export of Iranian oil, which will come into effect starting July 1st), but it is unclear for now whether they will be implemented.

In this context, we have told them that we have conditions of our own: they should sign an agreement for a period of 3-5 years, we do not accept any kind of impositions related to the state of force majeure, and they would also have to clarify how they are going to pay for the oil. Those are the three conditions which Iran announced, and the ambassadors of the Western countries in Tehran should talk to their governments and to reach a result.

Reporter: Can you tell us how the sanctions imposed by the Western countries affected you - concerning the exports of oil, as well as the freezing of the assets of the Central Bank - from an economic point of view?

Bahador Aminian Jazi: From the oil standpoint, there are no sanctions yet. The EU has approved the sanctions in the coming six months. We export oil to many countries, only 18% to the European countries. If they no longer want it, we have other buyers in other countries. That means that these sanctions will not affect the Iranian economy at all. There may be some problems in the future, but we can't talk about anything like that for the moment.

As for the banking system, yes there are some difficulties, but over the last 30 years, we have always been sanctioned at one time or another, so we know how to work under that type of conditions. There may be some problems in the day-to-day lives of some people - for example when our passenger aircraft won't be allowed to land on European airports, but there are no really alarming problems.

Over the last 30 years we have faced all sorts of problems, we had an 8-year war with Saddam Hussein. At the time, all the European countries and America supported Saddam. We can adapt to the new state of things now.

For example, the GDP has reached 475 billion dollars, in 2011, rising 68 billion dollars over 2010.

The currency reserves have increased by 26 billion dollars compared to 2010, to 104.6 billion dollars, in 2011, making Iran rank third in the Middle East and Central Asia from this point of view.

Also, our country holds the third position in terms of progress on the Human Development Index, over the last 30 years, according to the UN report.

In spite of the threats with international sanctions, direct foreign investments in Iran increased 120% in 2009 and 2010.

Reporter: Is Iran concerned over the possibility of an attack from Israel?

Bahador Aminian Jazi: Not at all! The Israelis are waging a psychological war. They know themselves very well and they know that an attack or any military option against us is not in their favor. They know they are a small country, which can't handle the consequences of an attack against Iran. If they were to attack Iran, what do you think would happen? Do you think that Iran would just stand by and watch, or do you think it would strike back? Over the years, Iran has showed that it can not keep quiet on any attack against it. We have to strike back! A country as small as Israel...

Reporter: They may be small, but they have friends...

Bahador Aminian Jazi: Yes, they have friends! But look at what happened over the last ten years... They have been at war with Hezbollah. A small group, who are saying themselves that they have less than 5,000 people. They haven't been able to deal with the problem of the Hezbollah, who are a very small group. They haven't been able to deal with the problem of Hamas. They are very weak and they can't afford to bear the consequences. Yes, they do have some friends, but that won't shut Iran's mouth. And the Israelis know that any attack will result in a counterattack. What will be the result for them if they try to attack? If they attack an Iranian location, do you think it will solve everything or it will be worse for them? We know that the threats of a military attack are a joke! They are only using them for psychological purposes. The Europeans and the Americans say that they are sanctioning Iran to prevent an attack. An attack is not a real option, but the Israelis are using it to force the Europeans to sanction Iran, and to force the Americans to do something for them. But a military attack will not take place, it would not be beneficial to the Israelis. Even the Americans, who are far more powerful, are using the expression "all the options are on the table". Ok! All the options have been on the table for many years. But what happened? They used this "option" in Iraq, in Afghanistan, which are far smaller countries than Iran. And in the end, what good did it do them? In the end, all of it worked out in our favor. They have spent a lot of money in Iraq, and they are now withdrawing.

Therefore, I think that the Israelis are waging a psychological war, even against Europe and America, we could say, because they are forcing them to make decisions in their favor, such as the sanctions imposed on Iran.

Reporter: This psychological warfare has affected the price of oil...

Bahador Aminian Jazi: This thing works in our favor and against the Europeans. The rise in the price of oil helps us, because we are exporters.

Reporter: The world crises are usually followed by wars. Is an attack in the Middle East imminent, for example in Syria?

Bahador Aminian Jazi: In Syria, they tried to repeat the Lybian experiment, but Russia and China were against it. I do not think that they can do that without the approval of Russia and China.

As for an attack on Iran, I do believe that the Americans know it wouldn't be favorable to them and that it wouldn't be a wise thing to do.

Reporter: The Europarliamentaries passed a resolution (ed. note: last week) expressing their wish that all the EU member states would withdraw their ambassadors from Syria...

Bahador Aminian Jazi: These are diplomatic gestures, intended to pressure the regime of president Bashar Al-Assad. But I do believe that these past few weeks, Assad proved that he can keep the country under control, there have been some attempts at reform. This process of reform can take place peacefully. Afterwards, the Syrian people can decide on the country's future through democratic methods, not through military actions, terrorist acts or foreign intervention.

All of the people in Islamic countries, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Bahrain, want to live better, and their lives must be listened to. It is for the first time in decades that the voice of the people is heard. It is a very good sign! In Syria, I think we can have a very good result in the future.

Reporter: But Egypt and Libya seem to be in chaos now.

Bahador Aminian Jazi: Especially Libya. In Egypt, some kind of elections took place. I think that the revolution hasn't been completed, because the Military council is still in place, but progress is being made. They have good results so far.

In Libya, after four or five months, they have some problems, because the situation is different.

Reporter: What can you tell us about the possible closing of the Ormuz Strait?

Bahador Aminian Jazi: When the Americans say that they have "all the options on the table", we want to show that we have some of our own as well. And they need to know that, if they want to use some of the "options", there could be some measures that could be used in response. They can decide to do what they want. The world should know that such decisions could have negative effects on the day-to-day life of people. It's not a good thing to say every day that you have "options", to threaten others, to show off your power and that you have military equipment on hand which you can use against people. You should know that there are consequences for that. Iran can fight back.

An attack on the Ormuz Strait is just as unrealistic as the option of a military attack on Iran.

As long as we can continue to export oil and we are left alone, we do not want to disturb this state of normalcy. We consider ourselves a responsible player, we want to remain a player in the region, and everything to be normal.

I think that the Ormuz Strait is important for Iran, for the region and for the world from an economic point of view. And we are trying to protect it.

Reporter: How will the placing of the American anti-missile shield in Romania affect Iran's diplomatic relations with Romania?

Bahador Aminian Jazi: We do not see this anti-missile shield as a threat to Iran. It is mostly targeted at other players.

Iran isn't too pleased about this type of decisions, but our relations with Romania remain good. There are no problems for the Romanian government. We are trying to maintain good bilateral relationships.

Reporter: How would you describe the economic relations of your country with Romania?

Bahador Aminian Jazi: We have good relations with Romania, and last year we had bilateral exchanges of over 200 million dollars, up over the past five years, from approximately 100 -150 million dollars.

Sure, ten years ago, the trades were larger: about 1 billion dollars.

I think that right now, there are opportunities for both parties, in various areas: oil, natural gas, agriculture, industrial products. Iran is growing significantly. We have a population of over 70 million people. We have the second largest reserves of natural gas in the world, we have the second largest oil reserve in the world, the petrochemical industry is good.

Reporter: Do you think there is a possibility of Iran participating in the selling of stakes in the Romanian energy companies which the Romanian government will conduct in the near future?

Bahador Aminian Jazi: I think that there are opportunities on the Romanian market for Iranians. Romania's situation is very important. If Iran has good relationships with Romania, it can have access to the Balkans and Europe. The expansion of the relationships with Europe is an important component of Iran's long term energy strategy. We can see, especially during this freezing period, that Russia can not handle Europe's energy demand, especially since that demand is on the rise. Moreover, no further resources can be used... After the disaster of Japan, you can no longer count on nuclear energy and you have to focus on using natural gas. Europe should look for new resources and I think that Iran is the best option: it is the nearest, it is the safest and has the best resources. There are estimates that by 2030, Europe's demand for energy will double. Unfortunately, because of political disagreements, Iran is currently not being taken into consideration for supplying it.

Aside from resources, Iran can even provide infrastructure. There are some pipelines in Iran and some paths that we can think of.

There are negotiations between Iran and Austria and Switzerland, we have an agreement.

At the moment, there is a pipeline between Iran and Turkey. We are exporting gas to Turkey. We can continue to do so.

There are also other options. Negotiations are being conducted between Iran, Iraq and Syria for a pipeline to the Mediterranean.

Also, Pakistan, India and China are making negotiations for another pipeline from Iran to these countries.

Especially China is seeing growing demand in the energy sector. The Chinese are coming in for negotiations, they invest in the Iranian infrastructure and they are trying to attract our oil and natural gas resources. And in the future their demand will increase, European demand will increase... I think that the world will have to think of the future.

Reporter: Was the Iranian economy affected by the international crisis?

Bahador Aminian Jazi: Because of the constant sanctions, the Iranian economy is used to getting by on its own. We are not that affected by the European crisis. For example, when in these countries the price of real estate fell, in Iran it has increased. Last year, the government took some harsh austerity measures - it cut subsidies which it paid to the population.

Last year, the Iranian economy reached the 17th spot in the world; prior to that we were ranked 21nd. This means an improvement compared to others.

These past few years, the living standard has improved.

Amid the imposed sanctions, we have learned to get by on our own. Three years ago we stopped selling gas to Iraq and we have decided to produce it ourselves. We have now come to exporting gas.

As for nuclear energy, six years ago we have begun enriching uranium, to get to a ratio of 3.5%. At the time, we had few functional centrifugals in Iran, and during the sanctions they tried to raise all kinds of obstacles for us. We have now reached a number of 10,000 centrifugals, and two days ago (ed. note: last week) we have come to the fourth generation of centrifugals developed by Iran.

Last year, we needed nuclear fuel, for the industry, in particular for medicine, with a 20% enrichment uranium, but they did not allow us and they asked us to hand over all the enriched uranium. We have accepted to pay all the uranium, we even signed an agreement with Brazil and Turkey to give them the enriched uranium, but the Americans did not accept.

Last week, we obtained 20% enriched uranium in all of our production capabilities. That means that they helped and that we now can produce all of these things.

Reporter: How do you think that the "Arab Spring" will continue, and how do you think that it will end?

Bahador Aminian Jazi: I think that it is for the first time in decades when the voice of the people is heard. It is a very good thing, we support these revolutions. 30 years ago, we went through a similar situation. We were against the authoritarian regime, backed by the Americans and the Europeans, and the Iranians conducted a revolution, determined to bring down the regime. The people has obtained the power in Iran and we are now seeing similar situations in other Muslim countries. This is spreading farther and farther. There are a few countries in the Middle East where there are no elections. Some of them don't have a constitution. It's only the sheiks and kings that lead, and the people don't have any input at all. I think that there is a need for change. Even if the Americans and other countries support these sheiks and kings, the people can no longer tolerate this. If the situation changed, these countries, such as Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, would have some problems, but eventually they can be solved. Just like we did in Iran. The voice of the people must be heard in a democratic manner. In any Islamic country, the voice of the people is the same. In Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Tunisia. Anywhere. In all of these countries the elections had similar results. We need to be very optimistic on the future of the Arab countries.

Reporter: Which countries are next?

Bahador Aminian Jazi: In Iran it happened earlier. I think that Bahrain is next. Yemen. I hope that a change will happen in the countries where the kings or the sheiks rule. In countries where there are no elections, where there is no democratic solution, some changes need to take place. People shouldn't tolerate the situation anymore. Over the past few years, good things have happened in Iraq... In Libya, in Palestine, in Egypt... and I think it will continue.

Reporter: Does Iran support the Hamas faction? What is your position on the Palestine proclaiming its independence?

Bahador Aminian Jazi: We support the people in the region, especially when they want to fight against Israel. It is our official policy. Concerning Palestine, our policy and our solution for the region is for people to decide by themselves. We support democratic elections, the people in that country, including Jews, Muslims, Christians, refugees... Because there are millions of people which have taken refuge in other countries. We consider them Palestinians, and they are the ones who should decide on their country. The people who have taken refuge in Lebanon, in Jordan, in other Arab countries... The Jews living in Europe shouldn't be the only ones calling the shots. This is our policy.

Right now, Hamas is the voice of the people. We support Hamas! The voice of the people must be listened to!

Reporter: What is your opinion on the manner in which the events are reflected in the mass-media?

Bahador Aminian Jazi: Wherever you turn your head, you hear or see something about Iran. We are constantly in a war which has several aspects... From an economic point of view, we have been imposed sanctions... The diplomatic war translates into resolutions, diplomatic gestures...

In media, some aspects concerning the events in Iran were concealed. Many Iranians were killed by the Israelis in Iran. Five Iranian scientists who worked on the nuclear program were assassinated...

Reporter: They have denied it...

Bahador Aminian Jazi: But there are certain pieces of evidence. Even some of the American officials, some of the American reports agree that the Israelis were involved in these murders... Who else could have been involved, if not the Israelis? Some other country? I think anyone can tell it was the Israelis. They use the media everyday to conceal these things. Every day, they have an axe to grind with Iran. Most of the news items are fake. The same source is heard all over the media, including in the Romanian press.

Reporter: Could you give us some examples of news which was reported unfairly?

Bahador Aminian Jazi: Many things about the nuclear program, about the sanctions on Iran.

Over the last year, Iran has insisted on its natural, legitimate right to development and progress, and as a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, it requests to have the same rights as other nations when it comes to obtaining nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. All of Iran's nuclear activities are within the framework of the international legislation, and all of the Iranian nuclear centers are under the control of inspectors and the permanent oversight of the AIEA (International Atomic Energy Agency). Over the last few years, Iran has been subjected to the strictest oversight and technological control and there has never been even one document or report that would undeniably prove that Iran deviated from the peaceful goals of the nuclear program. The media does not mention anything about these things. The news is unfair and biased against Iran.

Every time you turn on the TV, you hear something about Iran.

Even about Iran's attack on Israel, about the fact that Iran is trying to wipe Israel off the map. These are things that Iran never said. We do not want to use the military option against the Israelis. Nobody in Iran said anything like that, but you constantly hear something about it in the media.

Reporter: How could people inform themselves correctly, from your point of view? What sources would you advise them to use?

Bahador Aminian Jazi: Unfortunately, the people only have one source. They never turn to other sources for information. There are others as well. But the people in Europe are used to hearing just one version, because the media channels are owned by Israelis or by their friends, unfortunately. And they manipulate. Even the Americans have been manipulated and led to spend boatloads of money because of this type of exposure. There is no accurate image of our region. People don't listen to alternative versions. There are several available sources. Iran has a few media channels, in various languages.

Reporter: Do you think that the Iranian media is reflecting the situation in a fair manner?

Bahador Aminian Jazi: I am not saying that. Even though, being a diplomat, that is exactly what I should be saying. But I am only saying that there is another side to the story, which should be heard. We are only asking that you listen to other sources, and then to decide. As a diplomat, I should say that everything that comes from us is fair.

But I only want you to listen to other sources as well. There are other voices in the region as well. Listen to the Palestinians, not just to the Israelis. They have things to say. Who listened to the Palestinians, the Hamas or the Hezbollah? Listen to the Egyptians' voice! Last year, the only thing you could hear from Egypt, concerned Mubarak. All of the Europeans supported Mubarak. All of the Europeans supported Ben Ali (ed. note: Tunisia's president). All of the Europeans supported Saddam Hussein... Why?

Why won't you listen to other voices as well?