Iran says no change in nuclear stance after Geneva talks

Oct 5, 2009, 8:16 GMT

   Tehran - There has been no change in the Iranian nuclear stance and the issue was not raised in the Geneva talks with the world powers, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi said Monday.

   'We have not raised anything about our right to pursue peaceful nuclear technology in the Geneva talks,' the spokesman said.

   Ghashghavi said the Geneva meeting addressed Tehran's proposal dealing with general global issues, but not the Iranian nuclear programme.

   The spokesman said agreements reached on inspecting the new uranium enrichment plant south of Tehran on October 25, and a meeting in Vienna on October 19 on enriched uranium exchange were coordinated solely with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

   Iran has painted the results of the Geneva talks and the visit by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei to Tehran as Western acknowledgement of its right to pursue civil nuclear technology, including enrichment.

   State television on Monday quoted Iran's atomic chief Ali-Akbar Salehi as saying that both inspection of the new site and exchange of uranium were covered under an agreement between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog.

   Salehi said he would go to Vienna on October 19 to discuss with the US, Russia and France the new Iranian initiative to enricht 3.5-per-cent-enriched uranium from the Natanz plant in central Iran to 20 per cent through foreign countries.

   The 20-per-cent-enriched uranium is supposed to be used for the Tehran reactor, which is a basic research reactor producing medical isotopes.

   Salehi said he hoped ElBaradei's November report on Iran would normalize the Iranian nuclear dossier.

   Iran has several times demanded a return of its dossier from the UN Security Council in New York to Vienna, as well as the end to financial sanctions against the Islamic state for having defied UN resolutions on suspending uranium enrichment.

   During a two-day visit to Tehran, ElBaradei urged Tehran to implement the IAEA Additional Protocol which would enable the UN agency to make unannounced inspections of Iran's nuclear sites.

   According to the IAEA chief, that would increase international trust towards the Iranian nuclear programme.

   Tehran has signalled that would consider implementing the protocol if the Iranian dossier was returned to the IAEA and sanctions lifted.

The West suspects Iran is secretly pursuing nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. The IAEA has repeatedly asked Iran to clarify open issues in its nuclear dossier, also regarding possible weaponization studies.