Reuters: Iran and the European Union’s three biggest powers ended talks on Wednesday with no agreement on how to resolve the standoff over Iran’s nuclear programme, officials at the talks said. Sirus Naseri, a senior Iranian negotiator, told reporters that Iran would not consider terminating sensitive atomic work that could be used in weapons, as demanded by France, Britain and Germany, but said all four parties would meet again soon to continue negotiations.
EU, Iran talks end without deal, new meeting planned
Iran, accused of wanting nukes, locks horns with EU
Reuters: The European Union’s three biggest powers were holding talks with Iran on Wednesday to try to persuade it to abandon nuclear enrichment technology that could be used to make weapons.
The meeting was the latest step in a diplomatic initiative that began in October 2003 when Iran first promised to suspend all work linked to the enrichment of uranium, a process of
purifying uranium for use as fuel in power plants or bombs.
Nobody planning to attack Iran, says Blair
AFP: Nobody is planning military action against Iran over its nuclear programme “at the moment,” British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in an interview with a Muslim magazine, adding “Iran is not Iraq”. “I don’t know of anybody planning military action against Iran,” Blair said in the latest issue of the British monthly Muslim News, due to hit news-stands on Friday.
U.S. monitors Iran border for insurgents
AP: Worried about people sneaking in from Iran, U.S. troops and Iraqi border guards are focusing their attention on the “socket” – a remote section of frontier that juts into Iran and is used by smugglers, shepherds and even jobs hunters for illegal crossings. The strongest concern, however, is that the rugged area is being used by those helping Iraq’s insurgency.
Iran reaffirms full nuclear program
AFP: Iran reaffirmed strongly Tuesday that it will pursue a full-scale nuclear program, from mining uranium, to enriching it and also building a heavy-water reactor which can produce plutonium, in comments by a senior official at a conference in Paris.
Israel has no intention of striking Iranian nuclear sites: Sharon
AFP: Israel has no intention of launching a strike against Iranian nuclear installations, a top official said Tuesday, quoting Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Sharon made the comments during talks with a visiting delegation from the US Congress, despite months of press reports to the contrary, the official told AFP.
UK parliamentarians and jurists call for removal of terror-tag from Iranian Mojahedin
Iran Focus: London, Mar. 22 Dozens of British parliamentarians and prominent international law experts called today on Whitehall to remove Iran’s main opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI), from the UK list of proscribed organisations.
UK parliamentarians and jurists call for removal of terror-tag from Iranian Mojahedin
Iran Focus: London, Mar. 22 Dozens of British parliamentarians and prominent international law experts called today on Whitehall to remove Iran’s main opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI), from the UK list of proscribed organisations.
British parliamentarians and jurists urge removal of Iranian opposition from terror list
AP: An Iranian opposition group on Tuesday called on the British government to remove the People’s Mujahedeen militia from a list of terrorist organizations. The Mujahedeen regard themselves as legitimate opposition to the hardline clerical regime in Tehran and claim that Britain, along with the European Union and the United States, classify them as terrorists to appease the Iranian government. British officials deny the allegation.
US brushes off call for Iran security guarantees
AFP: The United States on Monday brushed off a call by the top UN nuclear inspector that it give Iran security assurances in return for Tehran renouncing suspected efforts to develop a nuclear bomb. The State Department reiterated Washington’s support for efforts by its European allies to negotiate an end to Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions and said the ball was in Tehran’s court.
