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Iran Rejects European Nuke Proposal
Again?
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iranian leaders rejected a European proposal designed to calm Western fears their nuclear program could be used to develop weapons, saying Saturday the offer failed to recognize Iran's right to enrich uranium for peaceful uses.

Germany accused Iran of being "confrontational."
Really? How could you tell?
It and France predicted that unless Iran backed down, the matter would go to the U.N. Security Council for consideration of sanctions. The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency is meeting Tuesday to discuss that possibility.

"The European proposals are unacceptable," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told Iranian state radio. He said the primary reason was the failure to allow Iran to produce enriched uranium, which is a fuel for atomic reactors that generate electricity but also can be used to make nuclear bombs. "We had already announced that any plan has to recognize Iran's right to enrich uranium," Asefi said.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Iran was taking a "confrontational course" and warned that the rejection would put Iran's nuclear program before the Security Council.
In remarks released by broadcaster ARD, Schroeder said it was up to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, to decide the next step. "One has to expect that it (the IAEA) will put it before the Security Council, if Iran doesn't come round," Schroeder said in an interview broadcast Sunday.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy urged the Iranian government to reconsider. "I beg plead for the leaders to take the time to examine the proposals with care," he said.
Posted by: Steve White 2005-08-07
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=126112