Thursday, December 6, 2007

Iran says sanctions will not help end nuclear row

TEHERAN, 3 Dec- Further UN sanctions will not solve the row with the West over Iran's disputed nuclear plans,
the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, a day after six world powers discussed imposing new penalties on Teheran.
The power met in Paris on Saturday after the European Union's top diplomet,Javier Solana,said he was disappoin-
ted about his latest talks with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator that had aimed to persuade Teheran to halt sensitive atomic work.
"If these powers are trying to deprive Iran of its rights,resolutions and sanctions will be fruitless,"Foreign Ministry spokes-man Mohammad Ali Hosseini told a weekly news conference.
The five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany agreed in September to delay sanctions against Iran until the end of November,pending a report by Solana on his mediation efforts and another by the UN nuclear watchdog,the IAEA.The International Atomic Energy Agency report found Iran was cooperating,but not proactively.
Two rounds of sanctions have already been imposed on Iran for failing to heed a UN demand that it halt uranium enrich-ment,a process the West believes Teheran is trying to master so it can build atomic bombs.
Iran insists it wants only fuel for power plants.Iran has refused to stop the activity,saying it is a national right and insisting its work is based on internationally and regulations.

No comments: