U.N.: Uranium Brought To, Not Made in Iran

Yahoo News:

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer

Tue Aug 23,10:04 PM ET

Iran claimed vindication Tuesday in a dispute over its nuclear program, while European officials canceled a round of talks with the Mideast nation because of its decision to resume operations at a uranium conversion plant.

Iran welcomed findings by the International Atomic Energy Agency which supported its contention that traces of highly enriched uranium found on centrifuge parts had entered the country on imported equipment and did not result from Iranian enrichment activities.

Meanwhile, about 500 Iranian students rallied outside the British, French and Germany embassies here to protest the European call for Iran to permanently freeze uranium enrichment.

The students accused the three nations of being "puppets in the hands of America," and some demonstrators burned U.S. and Israeli flags.

Those three European countries have negotiated with Iran on behalf of the 25-member European Union. On Tuesday, France's Foreign Ministry said they would not hold nuclear talks with Iran on Aug. 31 as hoped.

"There will be no negotiations Aug. 31, since the Iranians have decided to suspend application of the Paris Agreement," Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said, referring to a deal signed with the EU in November under which Iran agreed to maintain its suspension of uranium enrichment and related activities until negotiations finished.

Iran rejected the European proposal to provide aid in exchange for a halt in operations, saying the plan didn't recognize Tehran's right to enrich uranium under the nonproliferation treaty. Iran has said it is prepared to guarantee its nuclear program will not develop weapons but will not give up its sovereign right to enrich uranium.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Friday that Iran wants to enrich domestically mined uranium to produce fuel for its nuclear reactors so it does not have to depend on foreign suppliers.

After rejecting the EU proposal, Iran resumed converting uranium to gas, a step that precedes enrichment — an operation that can produce material usable both as fuel in nuclear reactors and as material for an atomic bomb.

The IAEA has urged Iran to against suspend conversion.

The agency's findings supported Iran's contention that traces of enriched uranium entered the country along with centrifuge parts it bought from Pakistan.

The discovery of the traces had been cited by the United States to support its claim that Iran has experimented with the production of highly enriched uranium, which is only used in nuclear weapons.

The traces were found two years ago on centrifuges at the uranium enrichment plant in the central Iranian city of Natanz and at the Kalaye Electric site, west of Tehran, raising questions about the motives behind Iran's nuclear activities.

Washington contends Iran is using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to secretly develop atomic weapons in violation of its commitments under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Tehran denies that, saying its nuclear program is designed only to generate electricity.

Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the IAEA findings vindicated Iran.

"Accurate scientific investigation by the IAEA has proved that U.S. accusations were unfounded," state-run television quoted Saeedi as saying.

Saeedi said the time has come for the West, including Europeans, to trust Iranian intentions.

"Given the fact that Iran has been cleared of the accusations and that its statements have been approved, there is no justification for Western countries not to trust Iran," he said.