Iran on Wednesday broke UN seals at its uranium conversion plant in the central city of Isfahan and brought the facilities back into operation, moving closer to producing uranium enrichment materials.

Shortly after the unsealing, Britain, France and Germany submitted a draft resolution to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s board of governors, calling on Teheran to stop nuclear fuel work.

The international community also urged Iran to cooperate fully with the IAEA and suspend nuclear enrichment-related activities.

IRAN MOVES CLOSER TO URANIUM CONVERSION

Iran's unsealing of the atomic plant was announced Wednesday by head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Gholamreza Aghazadeh, who declared that the last seals on the uranium conversion facilities had been removed.

Aghazadeh's deputy Mohammad Saidi stressed that the IAEA had previously authorized the removing of seals.

The removal paved the way for Iran to fully resume its uranium conversion activities, which it started on Monday after IAEA inspectors had partially finished installing supervisory equipment in the facilities.

"Once the seal is broken, a 15-day interval is required between the final stages of operation at the Isfahan facilities and the production of its final product," an informed official told Iran's official IRNA news agency several hours after the unsealing.

The activities in the Isfahan facilities are a preparatory step toward uranium enrichment, namely, the process of turning uranium ore, nicknamed "yellowcake," to uranium hexafluoride gas. The uranium hexafluoride gas can be fed into connected centrifuges to yield enriched uranium, the material that can be used to generate electricity or build nuclear weapons.

IAEA BOARD AGREES ON IRAN RESOLUTION

After Iran's unsealing of the Isfahan nuclear facilities, the IAEA board late Wednesday reached agreement on the resolution presented by the European trio of Britain, France and Germany.

An IAEA spokesman said an agreement had been reached among members of the United Nations nuclear watchdog but did not give further details. The text is expected to be submitted to delegates from the 35 member countries on the board by Thursday afternoon.

The IAEA board convened an emergency meeting on Tuesday at the request of the European trio after Teheran resumed some work in its Isfahan facilities on Monday.

However, the meeting was stalled earlier Wednesday as a non-aligned group, headed by Malaysia and South Africa, stuck to their defence of Iran's right to develop nuclear energy.

The European Union (EU) wants a resolution calling on Teheran to stop nuclear fuel work and return to the negotiation table.

But the Non-Aligned group on the board says that would be a curtailment of the guarantee in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of signatory countries' rights to civilian nuclear programs.

The Europeans have offered a package of economic and political incentives in exchange for Iran's cooperation in dismantling its nuclear enrichment facilities. But Teheran has rejected the EU proposals.

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY CALLS ON IRAN TO RETURN TO NEGOTIATIONS

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Wednesday that it is essential to break the current impasse between the Europeans and Iran and that he hoped the Iranian nuclear issue could be solved through discussions.

"I believe that the best way to break the impasse is to continue the discussions," he told reporters after his monthly luncheon with Security Council members.

Chinese Ambassador to the UN, Wang Guangya, said Wednesday that it would not be helpful to submit the Iranian nuclear issue to the Security Council. "The Council is not the proper place for it," he said.

China's UN ambassador in Vienna, Wu Hailong, called for constructive attitudes from the concerned parties toward the Iranian nuclear issue and warned against actions that would further complicate the situation.

"Continuation of the negotiation is the most appropriate and realistic approach to the resolution of the issue," said Wu at the emergency meeting on Iran's nuclear programs.

Washington said Wednesday it continues to work closely with the European trio over Iran's nuclear issue and urges Iran to cooperate fully with the IAEA.

The US wants to send Iran a "strong message" that it is critically important to suspend uranium conversion activities and cooperate with the IAEA, said State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli.

Germany said on Wednesday that the standoff with Iran over its nuclear program was in a "critical phase," and urged Teheran to refreeze work at the disputed Isfahan uranium enrichment plant.

Source: Xinhua