Russia, EU criticize Iran for nuclear step

By Parisa Hafezi

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Russia and the European Union joined the
United States on Wednesday in condemning Iran’s assertion that
it had enriched uranium in defiance of a U.N. demand, but
Moscow said force could not resolve the dispute.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared on Tuesday that Iran
had enriched uranium for the first time and would now press
ahead with industrial-scale enrichment.

His triumphant announcement keeps the Islamic Republic on a
collision course with the United Nations and with Western
countries convinced that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, not
just fuel for power stations as it insists.

The United States said that if Iran continued moving in the
“wrong direction” it would discuss future steps with the U.N.
Security Council, which can impose punitive measures.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the use of
force could not solve the stand-off over Iran’s nuclear
program, but he did not reiterate Moscow’s past opposition to
sanctions.

“If such plans exist they will not be able to solve this
problem. On the contrary they could create a dangerous
explosive blaze in the Middle East, where there are already
enough blazes,” he was quoted by Russian news agencies as
saying.

President Bush this week dismissed media reports of plans
for strikes on Iran as “wild speculation” and said force might
not be needed to curb its nuclear ambitions.

The Russian Foreign Ministry urged Tehran to stop all
enrichment work, saying its proclaimed atomic advance ran
counter to the decisions of the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) and the U.N. Security Council.

But a senior Iranian official ruled out any retreat.

“Iran’s nuclear activities are like a waterfall which has
begun to flow. It cannot be stopped,” said the official, who
asked not to be named, referring to the Russian demand.

The European Union voiced concern at Ahmadinejad’s
statement that Iran had joined the nuclear technology club.

“This is regrettable,” said Emma Udwin, a spokeswomen for
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU’s commissioner for external
relations. “We will continue to seek a diplomatic solution, but
such announcements are not helpful.”

DEADLINE FOR COMPLIANCE

The Security Council has told Iran to halt all sensitive
atomic activities and on March 29 it asked the IAEA, the U.N.
nuclear watchdog, to report on its compliance in 30 days.

IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei is expected to visit Iran on
Thursday to seek full Iranian cooperation with the council and
IAEA inquiries, a trip now clouded by Ahmadinejad’s speech.

The Iranian president stoked international anxieties about
Iran’s nuclear program last year when he called for Israel’s
destruction. But Israel responded cautiously to Iran’s latest
announcement, saying diplomacy was the best course.

“The United States has placed this issue at the top of its
agenda. I do not recommend that we should be involved,” Israeli
elder statesman Shimon Peres told Israel Radio.

The United States has pledged to defend Israel, which
bombed an Iraqi nuclear facility in 1981.

The State Department said it was unable to confirm Iran’s
announcement and some experts said even if Tehran’s assertions
were accurate, it would still be years before the Islamic
Republic was able to produce a nuclear weapon.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said
Ahmadinejad’s declaration gave “more weight to the
international community to act in a concerted fashion,” but it
remained unclear if Russia and China, two of the five
veto-wielding members of the Security Council, would drop their
opposition to sanctions.

In a well-flagged televised address, Ahmadinejad had said:
“I am officially announcing that Iran has joined the group of
those countries which have nuclear technology.”

He also said Iran’s goal was industrial-scale enrichment.

The level of enrichment needed for nuclear bombs is far
higher than the 3.5 percent Iran says it has reached.

It would take Iran about two decades to yield enough highly
enriched uranium for one bomb with its current cascade of 164
centrifuges. But Tehran says it wants to install 3,000
centrifuges, enough to produce material for a warhead in a
year.

Its decision in January to resume enrichment work prompted
Europe’s three main powers — Germany, France and Britain — to
call off 2-1/2 years of negotiations with Iran.

EU foreign ministers on Monday reviewed options for
measures against Iran, including travel bans and financial
sanctions.

(Additional reporting by Oliver Bullough in Moscow, Carol
Giacomo and Tabbassum Zakaria in Washington and Luke Baker in
Jerusalem)