Deputy head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Javad Vaeedi said on Saturday that Tehran would not accept any proposal that demands a halt of its uranium enrichment, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Vaeedi made the comments after Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said Thursday that Gulf states are willing to set up a consortium to provide enriched uranium for all users in the Middle East.
"We welcome offers to participate in uranium enrichment in other countries, but if the offers include the condition of a halt of uranium enrichment in Iran, they are by no means acceptable," Vaeedi was quoted as saying.
"Iran preserves its inalienable rights in the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s regulations," Vaeedi said, adding "the enrichment of uranium inside the country is one of these rights."
The Iranian official also dismissed as "pointless" the drive for a third UN Security Council resolution that will impose new sanctions against Iran.
"It is something pointless to pass a resolution against the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Security Council as we are actively cooperating with the IAEA," Vaeedi said.
"Countries that are talking about resolutions and sanctions are those that seem to be unhappy with the process of talks between Iran and the IAEA and they are intending to ruin this process," he said.
The UN Security Council has adopted two resolutions -- one in December 2006 and the other in March this year -- to force Iran to suspend uranium enrichment activities and give up its nuclear program.
The United States and other Western nations have constantly accused Tehran of developing nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian-use program, which was repeatedly denied by Iran.
Iran has insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and voiced hope for talks to defuse the nuclear standoff.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article