South Africa on Wednesday appealed to all parties involved in the Iranian nuclear program to refrain from any action that could further increase tension and confrontation.

This statement followed a meeting between South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad and Iran's Acting Foreign Minister Mehdi Mostafavi in Pretoria on Wednesday. Pahad said "we think this is an excellent opportunity for us to get at least the Iranian understanding of the situation so that when our delegation goes to this meeting, we'll have a holistic picture of what everybody's views are."

The talks were held ahead of an emergency session of the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) 35-nation board on February 2-3.

The statement reads "South Africa continues to consult with the concerned governments and members of the IAEA board of governors to find concrete workable proposals that can assist in resolving this matter in a sustainable manner."

"South Africa will continue to work in the context of the IAEA and within the framework of the Nuclear-Proliferation Treaty toward finding a solution," it added. Iran started what it termed a "close consultation" with South Africa on the dispute over its nuclear program ahead of a key meeting of the UN atomic energy agency.

Mostafavi said that South Africa believed there was no alternative to continuing dialogue and negotiations to reach a long-term agreement that takes due consideration of the rights, obligations, concerns and aspirations of all parties involved.

Iran is facing the threat of being referred by the IAEA to the UN Security Council for resuming research work on uranium enrichment which Israel and the Western powers fear would give the regime the know-how to build a bomb.

Mostafavi told reporters at Pretoria "we believe close consultation between our two countries will help restore peace and stability in each part of the world."

Source: Xinhua