March 5, 2005: Iran Negotiator Says Middle East Will Become More Unstable if UN Condemns Iran Nuclear Program

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Hassan Rohani, says the Middle East will become even more unstable if Iran is sent to the UN Security Council over its nuclear program. “This would be a particular problem for the United States because it has a lot of troops and equipment in [the] region and is in fact our imposed neighbor,” he says. Iran has complained that United States forces have effectively encircled it, with troops stationed in both Iraq and Afghanistan. [Al Jazeera, 3/5/2005]