Javad Zarif floats Middle East cooperation forum to solve impasse over Iran’s nuclear programme
Read Zarif’s comment article: Peaceful nuclear cooperation in the Middle East is still possible
Javad Zarif, the former Iranian foreign minister, is proposing a new UN-endorsed forum for civil nuclear cooperation across the Middle East and north Africa, dedicated to sharing enriched uranium and the fruits of civil nuclear power, as part of a drive to end the threat of nuclear weapons in the region.
The proposal is made in a Guardian article written jointly by Zarif, until recently a close adviser to the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, and Mohsen Baharvand, a former Iranian ambassador to the UK.
It represents the most positive if long-term Iranian proposal to resolve the impasse over the west’s concerns that Iran’s nuclear programme aims to create nuclear weapons, a charge Zarif denies.
