New York Times: Iran on Tuesday rejected calls by European leaders to halt its renewed nuclear activities, but indicated a willingness to continue negotiations over its program, perhaps by offering a proposal of its own. “There is no reason to suspend this activity,” Sirus Naser, Iran’s chief delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters after an emergency meeting here of the agency’s governing board on the matter. New York Times
By THOMAS FULLER
VIENNA – Iran on Tuesday rejected calls by European leaders to halt its renewed nuclear activities, but indicated a willingness to continue negotiations over its program, perhaps by offering a proposal of its own.
“There is no reason to suspend this activity,” Sirus Naser, Iran’s chief delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters after an emergency meeting here of the agency’s governing board on the matter.
Diplomats from the 35 countries on the board sought consensus on a resolution condemning Iran’s move to restart the conversion of uranium on Monday, resuming a long process that could lead to energy production or, ultimately, to nuclear weapons. But the board, which includes countries as diverse as Malaysia, India, Yemen, Slovakia and the United States, was divided, diplomats said.
Despite threats from European leaders to refer Iran to the United Nations Security Council for possible punitive action if it resumed nuclear activities, I.A.E.A officials here said such a move was not on the table on Tuesday but could be considered in the coming weeks.
Indeed, a number of developing nations, represented by Malaysia, issued a joint statement affirming the “basic and inalienable right of all member states to develop atomic energy for peaceful purposes.”
In Tehran, Iran’s new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, also called the processing of uranium “our right,” according to the ISNA news agency.
Speaking to the United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, by telephone, Mr. Ahmadinejad said he would continue negotiations with Britain, France and Germany, which are leading a European Union effort to circumscribe Iran’s program.
But he reiterated Iran’s rejection of a European package of economic, trade and security incentives if Tehran curtails its nuclear activities. “What the Europeans sent us is not a proposal but an insult to our people,” ISNA reported him as saying. “Their tone is as though Iranian people are a backward nation.”
“I have my own proposal, which I will announce after the new government is established,” he added.
Mr. Annan also “urged restraint and continuation of the process,” according to his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, in an effort to ensure that “both the Europeans and the Iranians remain engaged and in the search for an acceptable solution.”
President Bush, speaking from his ranch in Texas, said that if Iran did not cooperate, United Nations sanctions were “a potential consequence.”
“We’ll work with our friends on steps forward, on ways to deal with the Iranians if they so choose to ignore the demands of the world,” Mr. Bush said.
He added that Mr. Ahmadinejad’s statement that he was willing to continue negotiations was a “positive sign.”
Iran says it wants to generate electricity through nuclear power, as is its right under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The United States is concerned that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, and argues that Iran essentially forfeited its right to a full nuclear program by deceiving inspectors for years about the extent of its activities.
In Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry also issued a toughly worded statement that called on Iran to “stop work that has begun on uranium conversion without delay,” news services reported.
In France, Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said it was “still possible to negotiate” with Iran. “We are still holding out our hand,” he said, according to Agence France-Presse.
In Germany, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who had warned that Iran would end up facing the Security Council if it did not back down, was quoted Tuesday by The Associated Press as saying, “I don’t see any option other than reaching the goals via negotiations.”
Separately, an Iranian dissident living in the United States claimed that Iran had manufactured about 4,000 centrifuges capable of enriching uranium for either civilian or military use.
The dissident, Alireza Jafarzadeh, said in a telephone interview from Washington that the centrifuges were ready to be installed at Iran’s nuclear facility in Natanz, but that Iran was keeping them secret. Mr. Jafarzadeh’s assertions were initially reported by The Associated Press.
There was no way of independently confirming the allegations.
Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the Atomic Energy Agency, said, “We’ve seen that news report, and we’ll study it.”
Nazila Fathi contributed reporting from Tehran for this article, and Erik Eckholm from New York.
