London, August 13: The United Nations has revised a previous statement about Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulating the Iranian president on his re-election.
On Tuesday, when asked whether Ban had sent a congratulatory letter to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe responded by saying “yes”.
On Wednesday, however, Okabe reversed her previous announcement and said, “It is not accurate to refer to this as a congratulatory letter.”
“[Ban’s letter] takes advantage of the occasion of the inauguration to express the hope that Iran and the United Nations will continue to cooperate closely in addressing regional and global issues,” she added.
Ahmadinejad, the proclaimed winner of Iran’s June 12 elections, was sworn in for a second term in office last week.
Following his official appointment, Ahmadinejad received congratulatory letters from Japan, Turkey, Qatar, and Russia. Western countries, such as the United States, France and Germany, however, have refused to congratulate him on his re-election.
President Ahmadinejad was quick to respond to the Western move, saying that he was “not awaiting” their messages of recognition or congratulation.
“We heard that some leaders in the West had decided to recognize but not congratulate the new government … Well, no one in Iran is waiting for your messages,” he said.
—–Agencies