Atom work to go on, Iran says

International Herald Tribune:

Reuters, Agence France-Presse

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2005

TEHRAN Iran said Tuesday that there was no going back on its decision to restart nuclear fuel work, a stance that EU leaders said would torpedo negotiations on Iran's nuclear ambitions and spark an international crisis.

Iran said it rejected warnings from the European Union against resuming sensitive nuclear work and vowed it would never abandon its "legitimate rights."

"The time for threats and intimidation is over," said the Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hamid Reza Asefi, in a statement quoted by IRNA, the official news agency.

The United States and the European Union suspect Iran is trying to build a nuclear arsenal in the guise of a civilian atomic fuel program. Iran says it wants only to build nuclear power stations.

Two years of bargaining between the EU and Iran over its nuclear program appeared to be close to breaking point, with the EU coming around to the U.S. view that Iran should be referred to the United Nations for possible sanctions.

Philippe Douste-Blazy, the French foreign minister, said in Paris, "I think this Iranian affair is very serious and that it could be the start of a major crisis." Britain, France and Germany have told Iran that a resumption of its nuclear work would mean the end of negotiations. The EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said in a letter to Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Hassan Rowhani, "Were Iran to resume currently suspended activities, our negotiations would be brought to an end and we would have no option but to pursue other courses of action."

The three European countries had planned to offer Iran nuclear, political and economic incentives to freeze its nuclear fuel activities indefinitely.

But Iran insists that the EU recognize its right to enrich uranium, something it has refused to do.

Iran accused the EU of breaking an agreement that suspended Iran's nuclear fuel work while continuing talks, and Iran says the Europeans have been dragging their heels.