The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman calls Canada's official list, which spots states that presumably torture prisoners, 'biased'.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said the recent publication and the subsequent revision of the list under pressure from US and the Zionist regime demonstrates the biased judgment of the Canadian government.

In reply to a question on Iran's reaction to the recent France-United Arab Emirates (UAE) defense agreement to establish a military base in the Emirates, Hosseini said that the contract is based on the defense pact signed by both countries in 1995 and is nothing new.

“Both sides have announced that this agreement does not pose a threat to any nation,” he said.

France and the UAE signed deals during French President Nicolas Sarkozy's recent trip to the Emirates to set up a military base in the UAE and help it develop civilian nuclear energy.

Regarding Iran's position on the Kirkuk vote, Hosseini said that Kirkuk's future is an internal Iraqi issue and should be decided by the Iraqi people through a referendum.

“Iran will respect and support any decision made by the Iraqi people and government on the issue,” he stressed.

A referendum on whether the oil-rich city of Kirkuk should join the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan or remain under Iraqi central government control is due in mid-2008.

MT/FH/DT