A top Iranian security official said in Tehran on Wednesday that
Iran would resume its highly sensitive uranium enrichment program
in the near future, according to the official IRNA news agency.
"Iran is determined to resume its enrichment activities under
the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in
the near future," Hassan Rowhani, Secretary of the Supreme National
Security Council and chief nuclear negotiator, was quoted as
saying.
He stated that uranium enrichment to produce the fuel needed by
nuclear power plants is the absolute right of countries that are
signatories to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty.
In a meeting with visiting Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister
Ichiro Isawa, Rowhani also expressed Tehran's readiness to offer
commitments to prevent any diversion of its activities toward
production of nuclear arms.
"Over 800 person/day of inspections have been carried out in
Iran's nuclear installations by the IAEA last year. Such a degree
of cooperation proved Tehran's good intentions as well as the
peaceful nature of its nuclear activities," Rowhani added.
Uranium enrichment is the crux of the Iranian nuclear issue. The
US accused Tehran of developing nuclear weapons secretly, a charge
that Iran categorically denied and claimed was politically
motivated.
After repeated retreats and bargains, Iran suspended its
enrichment program on November 22. However, it insisted that it
would not give up its legal rights and the suspension was only a
voluntary and temporary measure to build confidence.
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, chairman of the powerful Expediency
Council of Iran, said on December 3 that the maximum duration of
the suspension was six months.
(Xinhua News Agency January 13, 2005)