KUWAIT CITY, Aug 24, (AFP): Kuwait has expressed safety concerns over Iran’s new nuclear reactor on the opposite side of the Gulf, fearing fallout from possible leaks, the official news agency KUNA reported.
“Kuwait’s concern is based on fears of any leaks due to natural causes that may have future consequences,” foreign ministry undersecretary Khaled al-Jarallah said, quoted by KUNA late on Monday.

Kuwait is the nearest country to the Russian-built nuclear plant in the Iranian city of Bushehr, located like Kuwait in the northern Gulf.

Iran loaded the Bushehr facility with nuclear fuel last Saturday and the United States said there was no “proliferation risk” from the civilian plant because of Russian involvement.
A number of Kuwaiti MPs, however, have called on the government to take precautionary measures against any incident from Iran’s first nuclear plant.

But Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters at his weekly press conference on Tuesday that the Bushehr plant adheres to “high standards” and had the seal of approval of the UN nuclear watchdog.

“Due to the high standards with regards to safeguards in the Bushehr nuclear power plant, there should be no concern about it,” he said. “The International Atomic Energy Agency has approved the safeguards in the Bushehr plant.”

Later on Tuesday, a Kuwaiti envoy met Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran and expressed his country’s desire to increase cooperation with Iran.

“It is necessary that the two countries increase cooperation and ties in different fields,” Mohammad Abdullah Abolhassan was quoted as saying by Mehr news agency after delivering a written message from the Kuwaiti emir to Ahmadinejad.

“Today, Kuwait is seeking to strengthen and deepen its ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran in every aspect.”

Ahmadinejad too expressed “trust” in Iran’s relations with Kuwait.
He said the two countries are proceeding “jointly on issues... Iran and Kuwait have cultural similarities. They can raise the level of cooperation and ties between the two countries,” Ahmadinejad said.
According to Kuwaiti media, a senior Iranian official is expected in the country within days, possibly to discuss the nuclear plant issue.

Meanwhile, during a brief visit to Kuwait on Monday, following talks in Tehran, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani said in a statement carried by KUNA that the Bushehr plant was Iran’s business.

“If the plant is peaceful and for power use according to our information, then this is a legitimate right for Iran under international law and we do not want to change this framework at the present time,” he said.
Meanwhile, Iran has ‘tentacles’ in every part of the world; hence, nobody can clampdown on its activities, reports Al-Watan daily quoting Mohammed Ridha Jamshidi, an Iranian military expert.

According to Jamshidi, the statements of the officials in his country on the comprehensive confrontation with the entire world in case of an attack on Iran were not issued in vain.

In a statement to Al-Watan Saudi Newspaper, the Iranian military expert confirmed that Iran has succeeded in building a defense system that depends on the skills of locals over the last 30 years.
Denying allegations that Iran intends to attack the countries in the region, Jamshidi affirmed Iran will counterattack any side on any area within its geographic and military coordinates, if the need arises.
In another development, the United States voiced concern Monday over Iran’s unveiling of new assault boats and an aerial drone, but said Iran’s arms buildup will backfire as its neighbors gang up against it.
Iran began mass-producing two high-speed variants of missile-launching assault boats on Monday, a day after Ahmadinejad revealed a home-built bomber drone.

“This is... something that is of concern to us and... concern to Iran’s neighbors,” State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.

He said that while every country had the right to provide for its self-defense, the United States takes into account “systems that can potentially... threaten particular countries or peace and stability in the region.”
Faced with “the growth of Iran’s capabilities over a number of years, we’ve stepped up our military cooperation with other countries in the region,” Crowley said.

“This is one of the reasons why... we believe that if Iran continues on the path that it’s on... (it) might find itself less secure because you’ll have countries in the region that join together to offset Iran’s growing capabilities.”

He added that the United States is still open to “constructive dialogue” with Iran to answer questions it and the world community have about its nuclear program, which Washington fears is aimed at building a bomb.

“But in the meantime, we will work with other countries to try to do everything that we can to maintain peace and stability in the region,” Crowley said.

South Korea will send a delegation to Washington this week to discuss sanctions against Iran that may hit a major Iranian bank’s only Asian branch, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Tuesday.

The United States has been urging its allies to join efforts in punishing Tehran over its controversial nuclear programme after laying out details of economic sanctions.

South Korea’s Deputy Foreign Minister Chun Yung-Woo and other government officials will visit the United States from Aug 24 to 27, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

“Chun is expected to meet with US government officials to discuss details of the UN Security Council’s economic sanctions on Iran,” said the statement.

Delegates from South Korea’s Finance Ministry and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), a top financial watchdog, will accompany Chun, officials at the finance ministry and the FSS said.