Iran slams West nuclear claim

The United States and the EU have once again repeated the unfounded claims questioning the peaceful nature of our nuclear activities without presenting any authenticated evidence, Iran's Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Ali Asghar Soltanieh told to reporters in the Austrian capital, Vienna, Press TV reported.

"Our message is very clear: We will continue our cooperation with the IAEA in accordance with comprehensive safeguards and we will continue our enrichment activities under the IAEA without any interruption. Neither sanctions nor resolutions, nor threats of an attack, nothing could stop this enrichment, which is exclusively for peaceful purposes," the Iranian envoy stressed.

The third day of the meeting of the IAEA's Board of Governors focused on Soltanieh's statement on the IAEA's western-influenced allegations that Iran's uranium enrichment is increasingly taking on military dimensions.

US Ambassador to the IAEA Glyn Davies, however, said that the agency's Director General Yukiya Amano's report raises a number of issues that are of serious concern to the international community.

Davies suggested that Amano “can deliver himself...his best assessment of whether there have been in the case of uranium program, military dimensions to nuclear activities in Iran.”

Iran maintains that its nuclear program is solely aimed at peaceful purposes, and that as a member of the IAEA and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it has the right to peaceful nuclear technology.

Iranian nuclear program has caused concern since 2003, when the IAEA became aware of its concealed activity. In late 2003, Iran signed the Additional Protocol to the NPT and voluntarily announced about the suspension of uranium enrichment. However, it returned to this activity. Iran insists that as a party to the NPT it has the full right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

The enriched uranium can be used to produce nuclear weapons. However, it is necessary as fuel for atomic power plants. Several countries, including the U.S., are sure that Iran strives to develop nuclear weapons and call for to prevent this development.

Until now, the UN Security Council adopted 6 resolutions, four of which are aimed at imposing sanctions against Iran, demanding to abandon uranium enrichment, and two resolutions containing warnings.

Another topic addressed by Soltanieh was Iran's intention to remove fuel from the nuclear reactor at its Bushehr power plant upon a request from Russian experts, who wanted the fuel to be unloaded for tests and technical measures.

“The nuclear power plant in [the southern Iranian city of] Bushehr is being completed based on a contract with our Russian friends. [The] Russian supplier has a contractual obligation to complete and put in operation this power plant. And, therefore, we expect them to fulfill their obligation in a timely manner as planned,” Soltanieh told Press TV.

Iran had to unload fuel from the reactor at the Bushehr power plant in late February, the latest delay to hit the project. The giant plant was meant to start feeding electricity into the national grid in the same month.

The fuel was provided by Russia, which built the plant. Russia said a breakdown in one the reactor's cooling pumps necessitated the removal of 163 fuel rods from its core.

Observers say the Stuxnet computer virus which Iran previously admitted had infected the reactor in September may be responsible.

The overall message of the Iranian mission was to open a new chapter of mutual trust and collective cooperation to implement the objectives for the promotion of the peaceful use of nuclear energy in order to contribute to peace and prosperity in the world.

Soltanieh also explained in his statement that Iran's nuclear materials are under the IAEA's close surveillance and that Tehran has always fully cooperated with the agency in applying safeguard agreements on its nuclear materials and facilities.


/Trend/