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Iran said on Sunday that it would never resume suspension of its sensitive uranium conversion at Isfahan plant, but negotiate keeping uranium enrichment work frozen at Natanz.
"Iran would never again suspend its uranium conversion activities. The Isfahan case is over, and we are to negotiate on matters of Natanz," Mohammad Saeedi, Deputy Chief of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, told state television.
Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi told his weekly news briefing that Iran's next step would depend on the European Union's (EU) future moves.
"The Europeans' behavior in the upcoming days will play a determining role in Iran's future decisions including resumption of nuclear work at Natanz power plant," Asefi was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying.
The spokesman reiterated Iran's rejection of the resolution adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Thursday, which urged Iran to re-establish full suspension of all enrichment-related activities.
"Suspension of nuclear activities at Isfahan's uranium conversion facilities is not on agenda at all," he said. The IAEA board of governors has asked the chief of the UN nuclear watchdog Mohamed El Baradei to report on Sep. 3 about Iran's compliance with its resolution.
Asefi also dismissed US President George Bush's recent remarks that all options, including the use of force, are on the table over Iran's nuclear program.
Iran restarted uranium conversion in the Isfahan facilities last week regardless of the stern warnings of the EU and the United States to refer Iran to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions if it resumed nuclear fuel work.
The resumption came after Tehran rejected a proposal presented by the European trio of Britain, France and Germany on Aug. 5,demanding Iran give up enrichment-related activities in return for political and economic incentives.
Iran "voluntarily and temporarily" suspended all activities related to uranium enrichment in November 2004 before opening negotiations with the EU trio on Iran's nuclear program. The United States accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons secretly, a charge denied by Tehran, which insists that its nuclear program is for purely peaceful purposes.
(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2005)
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