Iran repeats threat to limit cooperation with IAEA (Roundup)

Nov 29, 2009, 8:48 GMT

Tehran - Iran on Sunday repeated its threat to limit cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog in a dispute over nuclear enrichment, the ISNA news agency reported.

'If you do not stop these ridiculous carrot-and-stick policies, we will in return adopt new policies and seriously reduce cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),' Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said.

The Vienna-based IAEA on Friday adopted a resolution censuring Iran for secretly building s new nuclear enrichment plant at Fordo near the capital, Tehran.

The international community fears the plant may be used by Iran to pursue secret military programmes.

'The resolution shows that all the negotiations (since October) were not geared to find a settlement but to cheat,' said Larijani, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator from 2005-07.

The speaker said Iran would carefully watch the next moves by the world powers 'and act accordingly.'

Iran's IAEA ambassador, Ali-Asghar Soltanieh, said Saturday that the resolution had pushed Iran to limit its voluntary cooperation with the UN watchdog, saying future cooperation would solely be within the areas covered by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Meanwhile, 200 members of parliament issued a statement condemning the IAEA resolution and calling on the government to restrict cooperation with the watchdog.

The spokesman of parliament's foreign policy and security commission, Kazem Jalai, told Khabar news network that the IAEA resolution proved the UN body and world powers were following double standards.

'What is the use of following international commitments but not having any rights in return,' Jalali said.

The official news agency IRNA reported that security commission and foreign ministry officials will evaluate the resolution and might even consider pushing the government to revise diplomatic ties with countries who initiated and supported the resolution.

Although parliament is authorized to urge the government to revise its nuclear policies, the nuclear issue is classified as a state matter which means a final decision is made by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei via the Supreme National Security Council.