TEHRAN, Iran — An Iranian diplomat says Tehran
will not stop uranium enrichment “for a moment,” defying demands from
the UN and world powers to halt its suspect nuclear program.
The comments by Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s
delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency, come just two days
after senior IAEA investigators ended two days of intensive talks with
Iranian officials on allegations the Islamic Republic may have carried
out tests on triggers for atomic weapons.
His remarks reiterate Iran’s longstanding
assertion that its enrichment program is for producing nuclear fuel and
other peaceful purposes, and thus is Tehran’s right under the Nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty.
Soltanieh’s comments were reported by the official IRNA news agency Saturday.
On Friday, UN experts returned from Tehran without sealing a long-sought deal
that would restart a probe of suspicions that Iran worked on atomic
arms, adding to doubts that upcoming separate talks between six world
powers and the Islamic Republic will succeed in reducing fears about
Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Herman Nackaerts, who headed the team of
International Atomic Energy Agency experts, said Friday that “Iran did
not agree to allow [IAEA] inspectors into the Parchin military
facility,” which is one focal point of the nuclear watchdog’s demands.
He said the two sides would meet again in the
Iranian capital Feb. 12. But even if those talks make progress, they
will come too late for an Iran-six nation meeting tentatively scheduled
for the end of this month.
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