Iranian Ambassador to the UK, Mohammad Hossein Adeli, has suggested that a successful outcome to the ongoing discussions to reach long term arrangements on Iran`s nuclear program could redress the imbalance between the EU and US." Effective European negotiation with Iran maybe one way by which Europe could revive some balance," Adeli told journalists at a monthly meeting of Reuters news makers in London Wednesday." Although continued disagreements over Iraqi policy may hamper the adoption of a common policy by both sides of the Atlantic, there is no doubt that Europe and the US will want to minimize the fallout," he said.

The ambassador said that it was the new political landscape in the Persian Gulf region that made Iran "feel more comfortable and secure."

" Realization of this situation encouraged Iran to deal with the outside world, such as the Europeans in order to remove the tensions and build up confidence," he said.

Adeli gave a historical account of the developments in the Persian Gulf region and the dominant role played by Iran as well as a current perspective on US interference leading to its invasion of Iraq.

" Traditionally, the relations between the three big powers, i.e.: Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, in the Persian Gulf are essential for the new order," he said.

Given the presence of the US in the region, the ambassador suggested that the balance between these states was "highly
influenced by the nature of their relations with the US." He believed that while the US already had hostile relations with
Iran, Iraq would "not have to be revived as a regional adventurous power again by Americans."

The change in the political landscape also included the restrained relations between the US and Saudi Arabia and America`s decision to move its military bases to smaller states in the Persian Gulf.

" This development contributed to more convergence between Iran and Saudi Arabia," Adeli said, while "the emergence of a new Iraq would not be a threat for the region for some foreseeable future." With regard to security in the region, he warned that US exclusionist policies that try to deny its rightful role in the Persian Gulf "can`t be sustained."

Iran`s policies towards the Persian Gulf were based upon strategic considerations and the country was "more than ready to embark on a regional setting which could benefit all," the ambassador said.

But from an American perspective, he said that "their presence only fuels the terrorists' propaganda claims that the United States seeks to prop up the hated local tyrants and control the Middle East."