| Submit your comments on this article |
| International-UN-NGOs |
| Iran's nuclear achievement earns criticism |
| 2006-04-12 |
| The world's leading powers, including Russia and China, have joined to condemn Iran for advancing its atomic program in defiance of the United Nations. However, Russia says force cannot resolve the dispute. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has declared that his nation has produced its first batch of enriched uranium and will now press ahead with industrial-scale enrichment. His announcement has kept Iran on a collision course with the United Nations and with Western countries convinced it seeks atomic arms, not just fuel for power stations as it insists. United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the UN Security Council, which last month told Iran to halt all enrichment work, should respond with unspecified "strong steps" to maintain the credibility of the international community. Asked if the council might impose sanctions on Iran, White House spokesman Scott McClellan says: "That's a possibility as well, that's one option that's available". Russia and China, key players on the Iran issue with veto rights at the Security Council, have hitherto opposed sanctions. Force 'no answer' Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the use of force was no answer to the stand-off over Iran's nuclear program. "If such plans exist they will not be able to solve this problem," he said. "On the contrary they could create a dangerous explosive blaze in the Middle East, where there are already enough blazes." US President George W Bush this week dismissed media reports of plans for strikes on Iran as "wild speculation". China's UN Ambassador Wang Guangya says Iran's enrichment move is "not in line with what is required of them by the international community". Russia's Foreign Ministry has urged Iran to stop all enrichment work. But a senior Iranian official has ruled out any retreat. "Iran's nuclear activities are like a waterfall which has begun to flow, it cannot be stopped," the official, who asked not to be named, said. Annan urges sense UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has urged all parties to return to talks and "cool down the rhetoric". Three European states behind a deal to suspend enrichment which broke down last year have weighed in with criticism of Iran. British Foreign Minister Jack Straw says the announcement is "deeply unhelpful" and undermines confidence. His German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, says Iran is "going in precisely the wrong direction" for a return to negotiations. French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy says it is a worrying step and Iran should stop its "dangerous activities". The US State Department says it is unable to confirm that Iran had enriched uranium and some experts say even if Iran's assertions are accurate, it would still be years before the Islamic Republic is able to produce a nuclear weapon. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei will visit Iran on Thursday to seek Iranian cooperation with the Security Council and the IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog. |
| Posted by:Oztralian |
| #1 Ev'rybody's a critic... |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-04-12 20:51 |