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Iran Press: Officials Say Right to Enrichment Must Be Recognized

Posted on: Wednesday, 3 August 2005, 06:00 CDT

Text of report by Iranian newspaper Keyhan on 30 July

In reaction to the publication of the Europe's proposal to the Islamic Republic, a member of the Iranian nuclear negotiating team said: "Tehran will refuse any proposal that does not recognize Iran's right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes." Regarding reports published by the Western media on the Europe's proposal to the Iran that calls for the suspension of the production of nuclear fuel by Iran in return for the supply of the fuel for nuclear power plants by European countries and the expansion of economic cooperation between the two parties, Ali Aqamohammadi told the Fars News Agency: "Our negotiations with Europe is based on the principle that having nuclear technology is our right -- not a demand to be fulfilled by Europeans." [sentence as published] He said the negotiations between Iran and Europe aimed at building trust and removing doubts about Iran's nuclear activities and added: "If they want to prevent all these activities they actually stop the negotiations in essence." Stating that Iran has accepted the suspension of uranium enrichment voluntarily, the head of the propaganda committee of the Supreme National Security Council pointed out: "If the issue of uranium enrichment is ignored nothing to be discussed will remain. All other issues are subsidiary and are not our business."

Aqamohammadi said: "Only the proposals that officially recognize our rights will be accepted by us." He pointed to the Paris agreement and the Geneva meeting in which Iran's right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes was officially recognized by Europeans, he said: "If Europeans remain silent about our right and enforcing it and decide to leave the talks in the middle of the road such proposal is refused and unacceptable in advance as Mr Rowhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, officially informed the three European foreign ministers and Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign policy chief in Geneva." Europe will lose more A member of the Majles Committee of National Security and Foreign Policy described the Europe's persistent demand for uranium enrichment as a double-edged sword that may be disadvantageous to Iran but will be detrimental to interests of Europe and other international actors to a larger extent."

In an interview with the Fars News Agency, concerning reports on the Europe's proposal after the Ahmadinezhad administration begins work in return for economic incentives, Ali Ahmadi said: "Europe and the International Atomic Energy Agency intend to buy time and by extending the suspension of uranium enrichment turn it into a permanent stop. They want to use the principle of the extension of the suspension as an international norm and rule to cause the stop of uranium enrichment for ever." The Majles representative from Mamasani believes that Europe, in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and America, has achieved the aims it has sought from talks with Iran. He added: "Europe has gathered information through the report on Iranian nuclear facilities in more than one thousand pages, has enhanced its supervisory mechanisms and inspections, and has convinced Iran to voluntarily accept the suspension of uranium enrichment and brought the suspension close to a stop. Therefore, Europeans have no haste to continue the talks and reach an agreement." Pointing to the ninth presidential election and the victory of Mahmud Ahmadinezhad, he called this even a new opportunity for Europe and the Islamic Republic of Iran to test their principles, he said: "Europe tries to use the Iranian presidential election as a new beginning point to emphasize its principles and aims." Ahmadi believes that Europe has made its decision to compel Iran to stop uranium enrichment and, on the other hand, Iran is decisive to develop the cycle of the production of nuclear fuel. He added: "The convergence of these decisions requires a new mechanism and tools. Unfortunately, the trend of negotiations in the past has led to some kind of international consensus against Iran and has deprived us of many opportunities." This member of the Majles Committee of National Security and Foreign Policy added: "if Iran arrives at this conclusion that engaging in talks or not engaging in talks and presenting a report or not presenting it makes no difference Iran may have to face this question that of what benefit is the continuation of cooperation." The Majles representative from Mamasani said: "The historical experience shows that Europeans bow to power and force rather than reason and arguments based on international law, therefore, to improve the power of the Islamic Republic of Iran there is no choice but reaching a 'domestic consensus'."

Europe will lose if it breaks the promise

The managing editor of Siyasat-e Ruz [Persian daily published in Tehran] said: "With no doubt Iran has been the victorious side in the nuclear talks, and the evidence of this victory is the fact that Iran has been able to convince others of the rightness of its nuclear activities." Stating that Europe has not tried to come to terms with Iran in spite of the concessions made by Iran to relieve Europeans' worries, Eng Ali Yousefpur told the Iranian Students' News Agency: "After two years, Iran, by its constructive efforts, has convinced the public opinion of the world of the peaceful purpose of its nuclear program." The secretary general of the Muslim Journalists Association said: "Though the world trusts us but the European side of nuclear talks still evades recognizing Iran's right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes." He added: "International conditions favors Iran and any threat to refer Iran's nuclear case to the UN Security Council will fail. We have offered objective guarantees to prove our nuclear program is aimed at peaceful purposes therefore even intensifying economic embargoes and punishments, which Iran has had to face in the last 25 years, will not work." Yousefpur added: "In the last two years, Iran could prove the rightness of its peaceful nuclear activities and this has been a great victory. Therefore, if Europe offers a proposal that does not conform with its obligations this will be regarded as a failure for Europeans."

Hoseyn Purahmadi, a political science professor at Shahid Beheshti University, said: "The nuclear fuel cycle is a capital good that improves Iran's military power and security and preemptive ability against pressures." He pointed to statements of the spokesman of he Ministry of Foreign Affairs who had said that the European proposal must contain considerable incentives to encourage Iran to consider it and said: "Asefi had implicitly said that setting aside the nuclear fuel cycle by Iran must be balanced by Europeans' economic incentives. This is a flaw or instability in Iran's position." He said: "Iran must steadfastly announce that it will not accept any proposal that does not admit Iran's right to develop the nuclear fuel cycle." Stating that the Islamic Republic must evaluate the cost of making this decision, Purahmadi said: "If Iran is decisive to persist in the right to enrich uranium but finally change its decision as the result of increase in pressures this can put unforeseeable effects on the people's view and the legitimacy of the system."

Source: BBC Monitoring Middle East

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