WORLD> Middle East
|
WORLD> Middle East
|
|
Iran says will stick to uranium enrichment work
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-17 19:38 TEHRAN - Iran said on Tuesday it would continue enriching uranium, defying efforts by major powers to pressure Tehran into stopping work which the West fears could lead to building a nuclear bomb.
The EU's top diplomat, Javier Solana, presented Tehran on Saturday with a package of economic benefits designed persuade it to curb its nuclear work, and said Iran should stop enrichment during negotiations on the offer. "We have repeatedly said that enrichment is our red line and we should enjoy this technology. The work will be continued," deputy foreign minister Alireza Sheikhattar told reporters, according to the state news agency IRNA. The incentive package agreed by the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany last month and delivered by Solana is a revised version of one rejected by Iran in 2006. Western powers have warned Iran it will face more sanctions if it rejects the offer. Iran has shown no sign it will change its position, and suggested it was in no hurry to respond to the incentives package, saying it is reviewing the offers. "We will give our answer as soon as possible. But we do not know exactly when it will be," the Iranian official said. The incentives package offers Iran the chance to develop a civilian nuclear program with light water reactors -- seen as less prone to diversion into bomb-making than technology Tehran now has -- and legally binding nuclear fuel supply guarantees. It also covered trade and other benefits, including the possibility of Iran buying civil aircraft from the West. No straight answer A senior Iranian official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters Iran's response would not be a straight yes-or-no answer. "It will be a discussable response. We might accept some elements of the proposal and reject some others," he said. "But suspension of enrichment is not on the agenda." British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Monday that Europe would take further sanctions against Iran, speaking of immediate action to freeze the overseas assets of Iran's biggest bank, the Bank Melli. However, after a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday in Luxembourg, Solana said the European Union had yet to decide on a new round of sanctions. The UN Security Council has hit Iran with three rounds of sanctions since 2006. Iran insists as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has the right to master the complete nuclear fuel cycle, including enriching uranium. Washington says it wants a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear row with the West that has helped push oil prices to record highs, but has not ruled out military action as a last option. Tehran says its answer to any military attack would be "painful." |
