Iran says programme ’not reversible’ :: Namibia Internet Gateway cc ::

Articles: Iran says programme ’not reversible’

Posted by admin on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 07:54 AM

TOP officials of the five permanent United Nations (UN) Security Council members plus Germany yesterday urged Tehran to freeze uranium enrichment, but a senior Iranian envoy defiantly rejected the call, saying his country’s activities were “not reversible”.
Foreign Staff

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Iran that “the international community is united”, while German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said his country and the five veto-wielding security council members remained intent on a “diplomatic solution” to the dispute with Iran over its nuclear programme. Rice hinted at escalating security council action should Iran disregard a council demand that it re-impose a freeze on its uranium enrichment programme. Still, Iran remained defiant, and remarks by Russian and Chinese representatives suggested there were strains in the alliance facing down Tehran. Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Tehran’s chief representative at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, said “it is impossible to go back to suspension”. “This enrichment matter is not reversible,” he said. Soltanieh spoke after a meeting in Berlin among diplomats from Russia, China, Britain, France, the US and Germany over ways to press Iran to stop making enriched uranium, which can be used for weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful. Rice said the meeting sent “a very strong signal to Iran that the international community is united”. It follows an agreement on Wednesday to give Iran 30 days to comply or see the matter taken up by the security council. Meanwhile, President Thabo Mbeki yesterday called for a “sensible” handling of the crisis over Iran’s nuclear programme to avert yet another conflict in the region. Mbeki, whose government tried unsuccessfully to keep talks on the Iran issue within the IAEA, told Parliament that referring Iran to the security council could ultimately lead to confrontation. “As a government we are generally concerned about the situation in the Middle East,” he said. “It would seem to us that the most sensible thing to do is not to increase the troubled spots in the region, but to reduce them.” With Sapa-AP, Reuters

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