UN: Europeans, US, criticize Iran for uranium enrichment

Jan 12, 2012, 3:03 GMT

New York - The Europeans and the United States Wednesday strongly criticized the Iranian government for opening a second uranium enrichment facility.

Russia and China also expressed their concern in the closed-door meeting, western diplomats said.

After the meeting, representatives from Germany, France, Britain and the United States charged that Iran's actions - of opening a new 20-per-cent enrichment facility and locating it underground at Fordo - violated resolutions of the UN Security Council and the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Germany saw the moves as an 'escalation on the part of Iran,' deputy German UN ambassador Miguel Berger said.

The P5+1 - the five veto powers on the Security Council plus Germany - have been pushing the Iranians to return to the negotiating table, and have sent another letter inviting them to talks.

'We are disappointed that Iran is not ready to talk,' Berger said. The diplomats appealed to the Iranian government to stop the enrichment and return to talks.

Western countries are ramping up for a new round of sanctions in the absence of Iran's cooperation. The United States is preparing sanctions on Iran's central bank, which would affect all foreign firms doing business with it, such as payments for Iran's vital oil exports.

The European Union is considering an outright embargo on Iranian oil exports by month's end. US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has been visiting China and Japan to discuss the US sanctions and seek more support for pressure on Iran.

Iran has retaliated with threats to block oil transport through the Strait of Hormuz, which carries a large part of Middle East oil to the rest of the world.

Tensions grew even more when an Iranian scientist connected to the nuclear programme was killed Wednesday in a car bomb explosion in Tehran, the third scientist to have been killed since 2010.

Iran charged that Israel and the United States were behind the killing, in which a motorcyclist attached a magnetic bomb to the car of the scientist, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan. His driver died of injuries in hospital.

In Washington, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton denied the charges.

'I want to categorically deny any United States involvement in any kind of act of violence inside Iran,' she said.

Amid the escalating crisis, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been visiting friendly countries in Latin America, including Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba. The trip is seen as an effort to gain support and open new markets as Tehran becomes increasingly isolated.

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