Iran’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed the final declaration of the London conference on Afghanistan as “domineering.”

“The London declaration adopted a tone of dominance that infringes on the sovereignty and integrity of other nations,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehman-Parast, told reporters on Saturday.

Iran that declined to attend the gathering in London on Thursday says the conference merely focused on military aspects of the situation rather than making use of “regional potentials to solve the problems” of the violence-afflicted nation.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband condemned Iran’s absence at the conference as “inexplicable” and “deeply regrettable.”

Iran has a “positive role” to play in the region and “many countries will draw their own conclusions about the dissonance between Iran’s words and deeds,” Miliband continued.

Miliband’s comments on Iran’s non-show “does not affect Iran’s role in Afghanistan,” the spokesman added.

Iran, one of the largest foreign donors to the people of Afghanistan, is critical of the western approach in the war-weary country.

The London summit has agreed to a $500 million pay-for-peace proposal to bring Taliban militants into the Afghan government. Western officials say the fund is meant “to lure the estimated 70% of mainly low-ranking Taliban fighters.”

Iran says the decision could damage efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Human rights organizations have also expressed concern that the money will be used to obtain more sophisticated weapons by the Taliban.

The Taliban rejected the London conference as a failure and a ‘“ploy’ and vowed to continue fighting the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

“We insist on continuing our holy Islamic jihad against the enemy,” the militants said in a statement on Saturday.

West’s effort to reconcile with Taliban militants comes nearly nine years after the US and its allies invaded Afghanistan to allegedly destroy the militancy in the country. Afghan civilians, killed both in militant attacks and coalition forces’ counterattacks have been the main victims of the controversial war.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry says Tehran has not made any new proposal regarding a proposed fuel swap deal, describing reports to the contrary as “Western media hype.”

“Iran has offered no new proposal concerning the supply of fuel to the Tehran research reactor,” Mehr News Agency quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast as saying on Wednesday.

“Our views are the same as what was previously announced and basically there has been no new development regarding the issue” he said.

“Iran is ready to exchange fuel in stages. Should both sides accept the basis of the proposal, discussions may be held over the approach,” he added.

“We are still waiting for the response of the other party,” the spokesman underlined.

This is while, diplomats say Iran has formally rejected a proposed deal to ship most of its low-enriched uranium abroad, and receive the 20 percent-enriched uranium at a later date.

Iranian officials earlier said that Tehran has always insisted on a simultaneous exchange of enriched uranium.

Iran had earlier announced that it would enrich uranium up to 20 percent purity, should Western countries refused to supply the country with the required nuclear fuel.

The enriched uranium will be used to power the Tehran Research Reactor, which provides radiomedicine for some 800,000 cancer patients.

While the West accuses the Islamic Republic of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear pursuit, Iran says it is entitled to pursue the technology for civilian purposes, urging nuclear powers to abandon their atomic arsenals.

The United States on Tuesday moved to dismiss any links to a bomb attack in the Iranian capital of Tehran that killed a nuclear scientist.

“Charges of US involvement are absurd,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry earlier accused the US and Israel of having played a role in the assassination of Professor Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, who was killed by a booby-trapped motorbike blast.

“Primary investigations into the assassination revealed signs of the involvement of the Zionist regime [Israel], the US and their allies in Iran,” spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said.

The White House also reacted to the remarks.

“Those accusations are absurd. I saw that’s what the State Department put out today and it’s about right,” White House deputy spokesman Bill Burton said.

Meanwhile, a terrorist group, whose radio station broadcasts from the United States, took responsibility for the fatal attack.

The Iran Royal Association, an obscure monarchist group that seeks to reestablish the Pahlavi reign in Iran, announced in a statement that its “Tondar Commandos” were behind the assassination of Ali-Mohammadi.

The Iran Royal Association, headed by Foroud Fouladvand, is responsible for a deadly bombing in the southern city of Shiraz back in April 2008, in which 13 people were killed and hundreds were wounded.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that it has found traces of US and Israel’s involvement in the assassination of an Iranian nuclear physics scientist.

“Primary investigations into the assassination revealed signs of the involvement of the Zionist regime [Israel], the US and their allies in Iran,” spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said.

Professor Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, a lecturer at Tehran University, was killed by a booby-trapped motorbike blast in the Iranian capital earlier in the day.

The explosion took place near the professor’s home in the Qeytariyeh neighborhood of northern Tehran.

Mehman-Parast strongly condemned the assassination, saying the participation of Israeli and American agents “runs counter to international regulations.”

He, however, said such moves would not affect Iran’s pursuit of civilian nuclear technology.

“Such terrorist moves and apparent omission of Iranian nuclear scientists will definitely cause no obstacle in the way of the country’s scientific and technological development. Rather they will speed up it.”

An analyst said the terror is most likely sponsored by the West.

Mohammad Marandi, a professor at Tehran University, told Press TV that Ali-Mohammadi’s colleagues at the capital’s most prestigious university believe the attack was orchestrated by the West.

“It is widely believed among colleges that he was assassinated by terrorist organizations probably supported by the United States and has connections with the Americans and the Israelis under different names,” he said.

“Unfortunately when it comes to Iran anything is acceptable in the eyes of the foreign powers.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry says Tehran will continue its peaceful nuclear program, rejecting the possibility that the country may be harmed by further sanctions.

Addressing reporters during his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said Iran has always pursued its nuclear program in full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Mehman-Parast added that Iran’s nuclear energy plan should not be politicized, asserting that imposing new sanctions against Iran would not be a “constructive” approach.

“If they follow such an approach and try to deprive themselves of Iran’s potential they will harm themselves and nobody else… This approach is not an affective path. It is not the right thing to do either,” he said.

“Instead of recognizing the rights of committed nations who have had full cooperation with the IAEA and instead of meeting their requirements, they would be politicizing the issue,” he added.

Mehman-Parast said Tehran welcomes talks on its nuclear package, and is willing to accept a staged nuclear fuel swap, if its demands are met.

“Iran is ready to exchange its 3.5 percent enriched fuel with uranium that had been processed to a level of 19.75 percent, if the other side agrees to a staged transfer,” he explained.

The Islamic Republic insists its nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes and rejects Western claims that it intends to pursue a military agenda.

The US and its allies are constantly threatening Iran with the possibility of imposing sanctions on the country.

The two sides of the dispute came close to ending their standoff by sealing a deal back in August, but the powers’ refusal to appease Iran’s concerns over details of the agreement led to a temporary breakdown in talks.

The draft deal required Iran to send most of its domestically-enriched low-grade uranium out of the country for further refinement of up to 20 percent.

Iran needs the higher-enriched fuel for use at the Tehran research reactor, which produces radioisotopes for medical purposes.

Despite having accepted the general aspects of the draft, Iran refused to officially accept the proposal, as its concerns about the other side’s commitment to its obligations were not addressed.

Tehran wanted “concrete guarantees” that it would receive the promised fuel in exchange for the low-grade uranium it sends out of the country.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has lashed out at France over resorting to violence in dealing with protesters in the country, describing it as violation of human rights.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast deplored the Sarkozy government’s arrest of nearly 400 people across France on New Year’s Eve.

Mehman-Parast called on Paris to identify the source of unrest in the country. “Instead of attacking people, the French government should identify the origins of the recent unrest.”

“By torching more than 1137 cars in different cities, the French people clearly want to show their dissatisfaction with economic inequality and social dysfunction in their country.”

French Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said in a statement that 405 arrests were made across the country, a figure that has doubled compared to last year.

The French Interior Ministry had reportedly mobilized around 45,000 police officers during the night to confront discontent youth from immigrant-heavy suburbs.

Car burnings occasionally take place in France, but the number traditionally soars on New Year’s Eve.

This year, more than 70 cars had been reportedly set aflame only in the eastern city of Strasbourg. Meanwhile, police in the Hauts-de-Seine district near Paris reported 32 cases of arson.

Riots and car-burnings that echo the events of 1789 are of regular occurrence during the past few years.

Unhappy youths living primarily in France’s run-down ghettos use special days in the country to vent their anger at the discriminating policies against ethnic minorities and the high unemployment rate.

Even the enactment of a law that sets possible prison sentences of up to three years and maximum fines of $63,000 for people convicted of arson while demonstrating has failed to deter the protests.

Such violent protests flared-up in France for the first time in October and November 2005, when angry youths burned some 9,000 vehicles, following the deaths of two teenagers, who were chased by the police in a Paris suburb.

On a different note, Mehman-Parast said the death of more than 353 French transients in the year 2009 has become “the undoing of a European country that boasts of equality and democracy.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has expressed concern over the humanitarian implications of ongoing clashes in Yemen’s northern province of Sa’dah.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi cautioned, in an official statement on Tuesday, that a humanitarian crisis may be unfolding in the Arab state.

“The clashes in Yemen over the past month, especially the unrest in the recent days, have claimed the lives of many defenseless civilians, wounded numerous others and displaced thousands of innocent people,” Qashqavi said.

The spokesman reiterated Tehran’s previous stance on the conflict, and pointed out that the Islamic Republic believes the solution to Yemen’s problem lies in a strategy of non-violence.

Qashqavi said Tehran believes that San’a’ can find its way out of the current crisis by adopting an approach that focuses on the rights of the Yemeni people.

Since 2004, Yemeni government forces and Zaidi Shia fighters have been engaged in a periodic war in northern parts of the country.

On August 11, a fresh round of fighting broke out after a year of relative peace, as the Yemeni army launched new attacks on Sa’dah, and Amran provinces.

San’a’ claims that the Houthi, fighters are trying to restore the Zaidi imamate system, which was overthrown in a 1962 coup.

The Houthis, however, say that they are defending their people and fighting for their civil rights. Zaidi Shias, the clear majority in the north, make up around 40 percent of Yemen’s overall population.

According to UN figures, the continued unrest in the past month has displaced around 50,000 more people, bringing the total count to 150,000 since 2004.

This is while international aid groups warn that the deteriorating humanitarian situation in northern Yemen has led to the displacement of another 35,000 people in just the past few days.

Based on figures released by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the unrest has directly affected almost 75,000 children as well.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has arrived in Tehran on an official visit, as Tehran and Damascus seek to discuss latest regional developments after Iran’s disputed presidential election.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al Muallem and the country’s Ambassador to Tehran Hamed Hasan are accompanying Assad during his two-day visit.

President Assad will discuss regional issues and mutual relations between Tehran and Damascus, Fars News Agency reported.

However, French papers including leading daily Le Figaro had earlier claimed that Assad was visiting Iran on a request by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to mediate between Tehran and Paris to release Clotilde Reiss, a French lecturer detained in the post-vote unrest.

The 24-year-old Reiss, who was working as an assistant teacher of French at Isfahan University, was detained on July 1 on charges of espionage.

On Sunday, she was released on a $300,000 bail and is currently staying at the French Embassy in Tehran pending the verdict in her case.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry, however, has denied reports of Syrian mediation in the Reiss case.

President Assad will meet with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who was re-elected with a massive margin in the disputed vote on June 12.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry says French academic Clotilde Reiss, who has been detained in Iran on charges of espionage, is not a political victim despite French government’s efforts to portray her case otherwise.

“Unfortunately, she [Reiss] violated the country’s laws and intentionally carried out a series of offenses, such as illegal residence, participation in illegal protests and intelligence gathering for the French embassy,” the ministry’s spokesman, Hassan Qashqavi, said Wednesday.

“In addition to these undeniable facts, Ms. Reiss plainly confessed to her crimes in the various stages of trial and asked the Iranian people to pardon her,” he added.

His comments came two days after the French Foreign Ministry said that Tehran should take a step further and drop the charges against Reiss and detained French Embassy worker, Nazak Afshar, both of whom have been released on bail.

“Despite these realities, French officials… are trying to portray the individual’s arrest as a political reaction by Iranian officials. Such an analysis is biased and irrational,” Qashqavi said.

Reiss, who was working as an assistant teacher of French at Isfahan University, was detained on July 1 on charges of espionage.

On August 8, she stood trial among several Europeans following the post-vote violence.

During a court address, she confessed to taking part in ‘illegal protests’ and writing to the French embassy and about 50 friends or members of her family about the events unfolding in Iran.

On Sunday, she was released on a $300,000 bail. She is currently staying at the French Embassy in Tehran pending the verdict in her case.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has denied Syria’s mediation in the release of Clotilde Reiss, a French lecturer detained in the post-vote unrest.

Some newspapers including the French daily Le Figaro had earlier claimed that French President Nicolas Sarkozy had asked his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad in a telephone conversation to mediate between Tehran and Paris to release Reiss.

An informed Foreign Ministry official rejected the reports as completely false.

The 24-year-old Reiss was detained over a month ago in the course of Iran’s post-election events and faces trial on charges of espionage.

In a court session on July 8, Reiss admitted to having gathered ‘classified’ information on Iran’s nuclear program as well as the country’s post-election developments.

She said the information was conveyed to the French Embassy in Tehran and about 50 friends or members of her family.

Her detention has soured political relations between Tehran and Paris with French officials rejecting her charges and calling for her immediate release.

President Assad is to arrive in Tehran on Wednesday on an official visit.

Sweden has summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest the trial of those detained in post-election protests, says Foreign Minister Carl Bildt.

Bildt also said the European Union was prepared to take ‘further steps’ to secure the release of local embassy employees and a French national held in Iran.

“We called in the Iranian ambassador to the foreign ministry to reiterate and reinforce this message and tell him what kind of measures we expect from Iran. On this and other issues,” Bildt said in a Tuesday interview with Swedish Radio.

Iran has put on trial a number of individuals over their involvement in the unrest that fallowed the 10th presidential election, which saw incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared winner by a landslide.

Among the defendants in the dock are well-known political figures, activists, local staff working for the British and French Embassies in Iran as well as a female French academic.

“We are prepared to take further steps if necessary, naturally in consultation with all 27 EU member states. But I believe Iran is aware that we are prepared to take further steps,” Bildt said without elaborating.

“I don’t think one should go into that until the time has come. Right now we expect them to be released. If they are not released, we will see what happens then.”

In a Sunday statement, the EU’s Swedish presidency voiced concern over the trial, saying the EU considered it a move against the entire 27-member bloc.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry rejected the EU statement, saying it lacked legal basis as the trial of the staff and the citizen was being carried out ‘in accordance with international law’.