Larijani: Iran has still "enough time" until UN deadline

Jan 31, 2007, 17:50 GMT

Tehran - Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said Wednesday that Iran had still 'enough time' until the deadline of the United Nations Security Council resolution 1737, ISNA news agency reported.

'We still have enough time for discussions and evaluations,' Larijani said, referring to the end of February which is the deadline for Tehran to either comply with UN resolution 1373 and suspend uranium enrichment or face Security Council sanctions.

Larijani said he had phone contact with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Mohamed ElBaradei on Monday and discussed the latest developments in the nuclear dispute including ElBaradei's 'time-out' initiative.

ElBaradei's had proposed last week the initiative upon which Iran would suspend its uranium enrichment programme and the UN Security Council in return would not pursue resolution 1737.

'Mr ElBaradei's idea is basically resumption of nuclear talks between Iran and the 5+1 (five UN veto powers plus Germany) - Iran favours the same option,' Larijani said.

Larijani admitted that the government's nuclear policies were not shared by all Iranian factions but said the nuclear issue was a national goal supported by all factions regardless of political leanings.

Iran has so far rejected the UN resolution but is still seeking a way to avoid sanctions, which local critics say would push the Islamic state towards international isolation.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has however maintained his uncompromising stance, saying Wednesday the Iranian people would celebrate acknowledgement of their undeniable nuclear rights during the 28th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution, to be held from February 1 to 11.

While Ahmadinejad also wants to proclaim the increase in the number of centrifuges from the current 328 to 3000 for uranium enrichment at an industrial scale in the Natanz plant in central Iran, Larijani said the issue was 'part of Iran's research programmes and realized within a specific framework.'

In order to prove the peaceful nature of its nuclear programmes, Iran's Atomic Energy Organization will on Saturday take representatives from the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) troika and a number of foreign reporters to the uranium conversion plant in Isfahan.