Iran FM rejects Security Council statement

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Mar. 30 – Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki maintained that the Islamic Republic had a “right” to pursue its nuclear program hours after the United Nations Security Council unanimously issued a “Presidential Statement” calling on Tehran to suspend its uranium enrichment activities. Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Mar. 30 – Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki maintained that the Islamic Republic had a “right” to pursue its nuclear program hours after the United Nations Security Council unanimously issued a “Presidential Statement” calling on Tehran to suspend its uranium enrichment activities.

Three of negotiations with the West over Tehran’s nuclear activities had added to Iran’s mistrust, Mottaki said Thursday in a speech at the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. His comments were carried by Iran’s official news agency, IRNA.

Mottaki said that he saw no prospect of an agreement to the dispute, the government-run news agency Fars reported. He said that Iran would continue to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency

The state-run news agency ISNA reported that the Iranian Foreign Minister rejected the 30-day deadline set by the Security Council for Iran to halt all enrichment activities as an “injustice” and a “double standard”.

The Security Council’s statement called on the UN atomic watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei to report within 30 days whether Tehran had complied with demands for it to suspend its uranium enrichment program and resume its cooperation with the IAEA.