Secretary-General BAN Ki-moon today met with the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They discussed regional and international issues, especially developments in the Middle East region, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria.

The Secretary-General stressed that Iran's nuclear issue can only be resolved through a negotiated political solution that restores international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme. Iran's full cooperation with relevant Security Council resolutions is a key issue in this regard.

The Secretary-General also stressed the importance of respecting fundamental civil and political rights and encouraged further efforts by Iran to that end. He was saddened by the execution a few days ago of a juvenile offender. In reference to President Ahmadinejad's address to the General Assembly on 22 September, the Secretary-General emphasized that the United Nations should be respected as a forum for promoting tolerance, mutual respect and cross cultural understanding and that comments denying or questioning painful historical facts such as the Holocaust and 9/11 are unacceptable.

The Secretary-General expressed appreciation for the generous support provided by the people of Iran in response to the famine in Somalia. He welcomed again the release from prison in Iran of the two US nationals Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal on humanitarian grounds.

New York, 23 September 2011