US accuses Iran over North Korean missile tests

By Parisa Hafezi

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran accused the United States on
Thursday of trying to obstruct talks to end a standoff over
Tehran’s nuclear programme, while Washington said its fears had
risen because Iranians had witnessed North Korean missile
tests.

Both sides traded the accusations as the U.N. Security
Council wrangled over a resolution to make legally binding
demands Iran halt uranium enrichment, a process that can
produce fuel for power stations or bomb material. Iran again
rejected international calls for it to scrap nuclear fuel
production.

A senior U.S. official said on Thursday U.S. worries about
Iran’s nuclear capabilities had deepened because one or more
Iranians witnessed missile tests on July 4 in North Korea,
which experts say is a key partner in Tehran’s missile
programme.

Washington, which has accused Iran of having a secret
programme to build nuclear arms, says the two nations have been
collaborating and has expressed concern cash-strapped Pyongyang
was keen to sell missiles and possibly also atomic material.

Asked at a U.S. Senate hearing about reports Iranians
witnessed the North Korean tests, U.S. Assistant Secretary of
State Chris Hill said: “Yes, that is my understanding.” It was
“absolutely correct” the relationship was worrisome, he said.

Experts say Iran’s Shahab 3 missile has a range of 2,000 km
(1,240 miles) and is based on a North Korean design.

No Iranian comment was immediately available on Hill’s
statement. Iran has denied the U.S. charges it has a secret
nuclear arms programme, saying it is solely for electricity.

IRANIAN STANCE

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said Tehran
was still reviewing proposals backed by six leading world
powers to end the standoff and wanted talks to solve the
dispute.

“(But the United States) has been trying to create
obstacles in the way of talks and a diplomatic solution to this
issue,” he was quoted as saying in a statement by Iranian state
television.

Iran’s case was referred back to the U.N. Security Council
last week after it failed to formally respond to the proposals,
which include diplomatic and economic incentives to try to
persuade Tehran to suspend sensitive nuclear work.

Larijani repeated Iran’s stance on nuclear fuel production.
“Based on law, Iran has planned to produce 20,000 MW of nuclear
electricity in the next 20 years and needs to produce nuclear
fuel inside the country for those reactors,” he said.

Tehran says it will reply by August 22 to the proposals put
forward by the United States, China, Russia, Britain and France
– the five permanent members of the Security Council — plus
Germany. It has rejected calls for a swifter response.

Iran says it wants nuclear talks with European states and
on Wednesday President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a letter to
German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Its content has not been
revealed.

In Washington, White House spokesman Tony Snow accused Iran
of buying time. “Certainly the longer they can drag it out the
more they can develop in the way of capabilities. I see that as
kind of a bargaining ploy,” Snow told reporters.

Iranian officials have previously threatened that if
pushed, Iran would review cooperation with the U.N. atomic
watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and
the country’s adherence to the nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton said on Wednesday
major powers disagreed about how to make legally binding
demands that Iran suspend enrichment and stop work on a reactor
that can produce plutonium, which in turn can have military
applications.

Russia and China, both of which have opposed sanctions,
have raised questions in informal talks about a draft U.N.
Security Council resolution backed by Western nations.

The draft includes threats of sanctions and will also set a
date, possibly by the end of August, for Iran to comply.