Iran's top nuclear negotiator and Secretary of Supreme National
Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani said on Wednesday he had
appointed a special committee to study restricting Iran's ties with
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the official IRNA
news agency reported.
"Following the ratification of a bill to revise Iran-IAEA
cooperation relations by Majlis (parliament), based on which the
government is required to expedite the country's nuclear program
for peaceful purposes, the SNSC appointed a committee to conduct
the necessary studies on making appropriate decisions in accordance
with the current conditions," Larijani said.
The statement was made after Larijani's meeting with visiting
Iraqi Minister of Economy and Finance Bayan Jabr.
The committee would work under the supervision of the SNSC, and
would present with a report on the results of their studies, he
added.
Iran's parliament earlier on Wednesday passed a bill urging the
government to reduce its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog
IAEA, in an reaction to the UN sanctions imposed on Tehran, the
state radio reported.
The bill was approved by the powerful Guardian Council
immediately and formally became a law, and it would be effective 15
days after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad affirms it.
The UN Security Council Resolution 1737, adopted unanimously on
Saturday, demanded that Iran "suspend all enrichment-related and
reprocessing activities, including research and developments on all
heavy water-related projects."
The resolution also called on all states to impose a ban on
trade with Iran in goods related to its nuclear programs and
ballistic missile delivery systems.
It demanded that "all states shall freeze the funds, other
financial assets and economic resources" owned or controlled by
officials and companies in the country's nuclear and missile
programs.
Shortly after the UN Security Council's unanimous vote, the
Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement lashing out at the
resolution, calling it an "illegal measure."
Iran had threatened to change the level of its cooperation with
the IAEA, but said it would not retreat from the Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT).
(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2006)
