|
Iran wants nuclear talks with U.S.
Despite a Security Council deadline, Iran called Wednesday for talks with the United States but did not budge on UN demands that it mothball its uranium enrichment program or face harsher sanctions. Amid Irans nuclear defiance, the UN nuclear watchdog finalized a report to be released Thursday that is expected to formally confirm the Islamic republics refusal to freeze enrichment a conclusion that could subject it to tougher UN sanctions.Officials at the International Atomic Energy Agency said the report by Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the Vienna-based UN agency, would say Iran has expanded enrichment efforts instead of freezing them. Once released, the report will be sent to the agencys 35-country board and to the Security Council, which set a deadline of Wednesday for a freeze and said Iranian defiance could lead to sanctions in addition to those imposed in December. In remarks directed at Washington, the key backer of tougher UN action, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Wednesday the dispute has to be decided peacefully with the United States. But other top Iranian officials used harsher language and none showed signs of compromise on the main demand of the U.S. and other world powers a halt to enrichment and related activities. The enemy is making a big mistake if it thinks it can thwart the will of the Iranian nation to achieve the peaceful use of nuclear technology, Iranian state TVs website quoted President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying. On Tuesday, he said Iran was ready to halt its enrichment program, but only if western countries do the same. Posted by: Fred 2007-02-22 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=181129 |