The deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy
Organization, Mohammad Saeedi, told state television Saturday that Tehran
would continue enriching uranium. But, he said, Iran would allow the
resumption of short-notice inspections of its nuclear facilities, if the
U.N. Security Council drops its case, and returns it to the International
Atomic Energy Agency. Iran barred
the inspections in February, after being referred to the Security
Council over its nuclear activities.
Mohammad Saeedi also said the Islamic Republic is moving ahead on the
technological front, installing two more sophisticated centrifuges at its
Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran.
Saeedi's comments come a day after IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei sent a
report to the Security Council saying Iran is continuing its nuclear fuel
enrichment, in defiance of international demands. ElBaradei also called on
Tehran to be more cooperative.
Western diplomats at the United Nations say they plan to introduce a
Security Council resolution within a week that would give legal force to
the Council's demands. U.S. Ambassador John Bolten said Friday that the
draft resolution would be very straightforward. "It will
simply make mandatory the obligations already imposed on Iran by
previously existing IAEA resolutions," he said. "That really put the ball
back in Iran's court. It's up to them, whether they will honor their
obligations under the U.N. charter."
Russia and China, both permanent Security Council members with
veto-power, have been reluctant to support limited sanctions against Iran.
But, Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov turned up the heat
on the Islamic Republic, telling his Iranian counterpart in a telephone
conversation that Tehran must halt its uranium enrichment activity and
cooperate with the IAEA.
In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Lavrov emphasized the
urgent need for Iran to take concrete steps to restore international
confidence about its nuclear program. He also urged Iran to fully
cooperate with the IAEA to clear up remaining questions about its nuclear
program.
Iran has repeatedly insisted that its nuclear
ambitions are strictly limited to generating electricity for civilian
purposes. Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said Friday that it is
Iran's inalienable
right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. He said
Iran would never give up that right, calling it "our red line, and we will
never cross it."
The foreign ministers of the Security Council's five permanent members
and Germany are scheduled to meet May 9 in New York to discuss Iran's
nuclear program. |