Iran refuses to back down

2004-08-02 11:22

Ali Akbar Dareini

Tehran - Iran has said it will continue to pursue acquiring nuclear energy and would not succumb to pressure or accept any conditions.

Government spokesperson Hamid Reza Asefi, speaking to reporters on Sunday, said Iran continued to talk to Britain, France and Germany on the use of nuclear energy.

Iranian officials have been holding talks in Paris with the European powers since Thursday to try and reach a consensus on Tehran's nuclear programme.

Washington strongly suspects Iran is using a civilian nuclear programme as a cover for a secret nuclear weapons project. It has been lobbying for the International Atomic Energy Agency to refer Iran's nuclear dossier to the United Nations Security Council, which could impose sanctions.

The talks in Paris prepare the ground for a September meeting of the board of governors of the IAEA, which is expected to discuss Iran's programme.

Asefi said that since the Europeans did not fulfil their promises to close Iran's nuclear dossier at the IAEA's June meeting, Iran felt no obligation to abide by the agreement which demanded Iran suspend manufacturing and assembling parts used in nuclear activities.

On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi confirmed Iran had resumed building nuclear centrifuges. The announcement by Kharrazi hardened the lines between Iran and the United States, which has been pushing to take Iran's nuclear programme to the United Nations Security Council.

"We still continue suspension on uranium enrichment, meaning that we have not resumed enrichment," Kharrazi said. "But we are not committed to another agreement with them (Britain, Germany and France) on not to build centrifuges."

Diplomats said this week that Tehran had resumed building equipment used to make uranium hexaflouride which, when processed in centrifuges, can be enriched to low levels for power generation or high levels for nuclear weapons.

- AP