Question: How could you comment on US Vice President Joseph Biden telling the American channel ABC's "This Week" in an interview broadcast Sunday that Israel has the right to take a "sovereign decision" on a strike against Iran?

Answer: We are surprised by such remarks of US Vice President Joseph Biden. As we understand it, they cardinally diverge from the approaches that US President Barack Obama professes regarding ways to resolve the situation surrounding the Iranian nuclear program, in particular, about the United States' readiness to enter into dialogue with Iran and look for a solution to this problem by politico-diplomatic methods.

From the point of view of international law, moreover, Biden's statement runs counter to all existing decisions of the UN Security Council on Iran. Its resolutions 1737, 1747 and 1803 concerning the Iran question were adopted under Article 41 of Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which in no circumstances presupposes the use of military force.

We have said publicly on more than one occasion that the optimal means of resolving the situation is looking jointly for a political solution of the problem connected with Iran's nuclear program, in a broad context, taking into account the lawful security interests of all states of this region.

July 7, 2009