Reuters: Iran said on Tuesday its decision to resume activities at a sensitive nuclear plant near the central city of Isfahan was irreversible. Two years of hard bargaining over a nuclear programme that Tehran had kept secret for 18 years appeared to be heading towards a crisis that could see Iran’s case sent to the United Nations Security Council for possible sanctions. Reuters
TEHRAN – Iran said on Tuesday its decision to resume activities at a sensitive nuclear plant near the central city of Isfahan was irreversible.
Two years of hard bargaining over a nuclear programme that Tehran had kept secret for 18 years appeared to be heading towards a crisis that could see Iran’s case sent to the United Nations Security Council for possible sanctions.
The so-called EU3 of Britain, France and Germany have been trying to mediate between the United States, which insists Iran is trying to produce nuclear weapons, and the Islamic Republic, which says it has a right to develop atomic technology for power generation.
“The political decision has been taken … The resumption is irreversible,” Supreme National Security Council spokesman Ali Aghamohammadi told Reuters.
Iran said on Monday inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog, began “setting up surveillance cameras and preparing supervision work” at the Isfahan plant, to prepare to restart work there.
Iran had said it wanted to resume work there on Monday, but the IAEA had requested time to install the equipment to keep track of the work there, which would take until next week.
Iran agreed to the request, but the spokesman said as far as Iran was concerned, the resumption had already begun.
