Engaging Iran: Iran jilts EU again, refuses to halt enrichment

Those who insist on engagement with Iran should take note: been there, done that.

 

Iran rejects economic incentives to halt uranium enrichment

 

Tehran says it hopes to offer 'good news' regarding its nuclear program later this week as the country celebrates it National Day of Nuclear Technology, dismisses EU offer of benefits in exchange for termination of uranium enrichment efforts. 'The Islamic Republic doesn't need incentives from Europe to obtain its rights,' says government spokesman Gholam Elham

 

Associated Press
Published:  04.05.08, 17:35 / Israel News

 

Iran rejected recent European overtures to halt its uranium enrichment program in return for incentives, saying it will continue to expand, not halt, its nuclear program, the government spokesman told reporters Saturday.

 

 

The European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said last month that his bloc was open for further talks with Tehran to resolve the standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions despite UN Security Council approval of a third round of sanctions.

 

''Iran does not trade its rights in return for incentives,'' government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham told reporters. ''The Islamic Republic of Iran doesn't need incentives from Europe to obtain its rights.''

 

Though the UN Security Council imposed a new round of sanctions on Iran last month for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, the foreign ministers of the US, Russia, China, Britain and France, along with Germany, also pledged to enhance a 2006 package of political, security and economic incentives to Iran in return for a halt on uranium enrichment.

 

But Iran has refused, dismissing a third round of sanctions imposed March 3 as ''worthless'' and ''based on political motivations.''

 

Elham, however, said Iran will still talk to Europe about its nuclear program.

 

''Iran has always stated that the door to dialogue and interaction with the outside world, European or non-European is open,'' he told reporters, while making it clear that the six nations can't replace the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency in dealing with Iran's nuclear rights and obligations.

 

''Dialogue doesn't mean creating new institutions to replace legal bodies. We do not accept replacing the IAEA (with some countries which themselves possess nuclear weapons),'' he said.

'IAEA vindicated our program'

 

Iran has repeatedly said its right to enrich uranium under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty was ''nonnegotiable.''

 

 The United States, the European Union, Israel and others suspect Iran's goal is to produce nuclear weapons. But Iran insists its program is aimed solely at producing nuclear energy.

 

Iran says a report released by the UN International Atomic Energy Agency in February vindicated Iran's nuclear program and left no justification for any Security Council sanctions.

 

The 11-page report by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said all major past issues surrounding Iran's nuclear activities had been fully resolved or are ''no longer outstanding at this stage,'' repeatedly saying the IAEA's findings are consistent with information available to the agency and explanations provided by Iran.

 

Diplomats in Vienna told The Associated Press Thursday that Iran has assembled hundreds of advanced machines reflecting a possible intention to speed up uranium enrichment.
 

 

One diplomat said more than 300 of the centrifuges have been linked up in two separate units in Iran's underground enrichment plant and a third was being assembled. He said the machines apparently are more advanced than the thousands already running underground.

 

The location is significant, since the aboveground site at Natanz is for experimental work and the underground facility is the working enrichment plant.

 

 

Elham said the government hoped to offer ''good news'' to the nation on Iran's ''achievements'' on April 8, declared as the National Day of Nuclear Technology.

 

It refers to April 8, 2006 when Iran for the first time enriched uranium at Natanz.

 

Source

 

Cross posted: Israel News  Middle East Analysis