Iran to end 'nuke monopoly'
2006-01-12 21:49
Tehran - Iran will press on with its nuclear programme to avoid dependency on leading nuclear energy powers who use it as "an economic and political weapon", President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday.
"Today, those who have the highest level of nuclear energy, have the nuclear fuel in their claws and are using it as an economic and political weapon," national television quoted him as saying in a speech in the southern Hormuzgan province.
He continued that "in these circumstances we must master the fuel cycle and the peaceful nuclear technology".
His comments came as Britain, France and Germany ended crisis talks in Berlin on the crisis between Tehran and the West over Iran's nuclear programme which Washington suspects is being used to cover a drive for an atomic bomb.
The so-called EU-3 said the time had come for the United Nations security council to become involved in the crisis.
Iran sparked international ire on Tuesday by breaking seals on three nuclear facilities in order to resume nuclear fuel work.
Ahmadinejad, Iran's hardline president, reiterated that "the government will fulfil the wish of the people with power, patience and wisdom to seek a peaceful technology".
- AFP