Britain, France and Germany have urged Iran to stop its uranium enrichment immediately despite a deal it has struck with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"We have to have full trust that Iran refrains now and in future from any military nuclear activities," German Ambassador Klaus Peter Gottwald told a meeting of IAEA governing board that opened Monday in Vienna.
Referring to the deal reached late last month between the IAEA and Iran to sort out remaining questions about Iran's controversial nuclear program, he said the Europeans noted "weaknesses ... (that) may possibly be used to delay the clarification of the outstanding questions."
"We would have preferred an approach providing for parallel efforts. If Iran evades or delays the clarification..., the work plan will be a failure," he said.
Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, Iran's chief delegate to the agency, said on the sidelines of the meeting that the western nations are intentionally downplaying the initial successes of the previous U.N. inspection into Iran's nuclear programs.
Those countries are "poisoning the environment" at the meeting, he said.
Nonaligned nations on Tuesday voiced their support for the deal between the IAEA and Iran despite western skepticism, saying that the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) shares IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei's view that "this work plan (timetable) is a significant step forward."
Iran has pledged late last month to answer outstanding questions about its controversial nuclear program, a move considered by some western countries as one of Iran's fresh tricks to delay U.N. sanctions.
Iranian leaders have repeatedly said Tehran would not bow to western pressure to suspend its uranium enrichment, which Iran said will only be used for peaceful means such as generating power.
Western countries have been pushing for U.N. sanctions to stop Iran's nuclear program, a potential pathway to nuclear weapons.
Source: Xinhua
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