EU echoes US threats of sanctions against Iran

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118347&sectionid=351020104


The European Union foreign policy chief has followed Washington's suit by threatening Iran with sanctions over its nuclear program.

In a Tuesday statement, Catherine Ashton said Tehran's decision to start enriching uranium to 20 percent could lead to further Western-brokered sanctions.

“Taking enrichment to the level of 20 percent adds to the deficit of confidence in the nature of Iran's nuclear program. This has already been aggravated by Iran's unwillingness to engage in meaningful talks,” Ashton said.

“We continue to find it difficult to understand why Iran has not taken up the proposed (fuel swap) agreement,“ she said.

Her comments follow numerous occasions on which Tehran expressed its concerns regarding the proposed nuclear swap deal and its shortcomings.

The UN-drafted deal demands Iran to send the bulk its low-enriched uranium abroad for further processing of up to 20 percent for the Tehran research reactor, which produces medical isotopes for cancer treatment.

Iran has called for the swap deal to take place simultaneously, arguing that if it ships out the bulk of its enriched uranium there would be no guarantee to ensure that the promised fuel would eventually be delivered to the country.

That distrust can be traced back to the lack of commitment demonstrated by Western powers in their previous nuclear contracts with the Islamic Republic.

Tehran has been promised nuclear fuel for over 30 years now. Despite being a 10-percent shareholder and hence entitled to the European Gaseous Diffusion Uranium Enrichment Consortium (Eurodif)'s output, Iran has never received enriched uranium from France.

Tehran and Paris have also signed a deal, under which France is obliged to deliver 50 tons of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) to Iran — another obligation France has failed to meet.

As the powers ignored Tehran's concerns over the absence of necessary guarantees, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday that the country could not wait the West to further "waste time" while some 850,000 cancer patients were in dire need of medicine.

Upon the order of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran on Tuesday began enriching uranium to 20 percent at its Natanz enrichment facility to meet the demand.
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Russia says new Iran sanctions no solution



Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118346&sectionid=351020602

Russia said Wednesday that fresh sanctions on Iran over its nuclear work were not the solution, although new punitive measures seemed more 'realistic' at the moment.

“In this new situation, of course, the question of sanctions, of drafting a resolution for new sanctions has become more realistic,” Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Interfax news agency.

He, however, said that in Russia's view "sanctions were not a solution to the problem,” adding that Western powers were trying to press Russia, one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council with veto power, into consenting to more sanctions against Iran.

The US has been pushing Iran to accept a deal that demands Tehran to send most of its low-enriched uranium abroad for further processing for Tehran's research reactor, which runs on 20 percent-enriched uranium and produces medical isotopes.

Iran has called for the swap deal to take place on its own soil, arguing that if it ships out the bulk of its enriched uranium there will be no guarantees that the fuel would eventually be delivered to the country, based on the past contractual violations by Western nuclear powers in their dealings with the Islamic Republic.

The Tehran research reactor is running out of fuel and since the country could no longer rely on the IAEA or the nuclear powers for the delivery of the required fuel, Iran took measures to enrich uranium to 20 percent on its own soil.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday that Iran could not wait for Western countries to further "waste time" while some 850,000 cancer patients were in dire need of medicine.

Upon the order of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran announced on Tuesday that it began enriching uranium to a level of 20 percent at its Natanz enrichment facility to meet domestic demand.

Shortly after Iran's announcement, US President Barack Obama threatened Iran with “significant regime of sanctions.”

Iran says, as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, it reserves the right to enrich uranium up to 20 percent, arguing that a fuel swap with Western countries does not require the country to relinquish other ways of supplying the fuel.

Officials in Tehran have, however, asserted that they are still open to talks over the swap, reiterating that their “concerns” have to be addressed.
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China Calls for Talks Over Iran Nuclear Issue



Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118250&sectionid=351020104

China has called all parties involved in talks on Iran's nuclear issue to work toward a deal which would provide Iran with 20% enriched uranium needed for Tehran medical reactor.

"I hope the relevant parties will step up efforts and push for progress in the dialogue and negotiations," China's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said Tuesday at a regular news briefing in Beijing.

He added that reaching a deal on providing nuclear fuel for the medical reactor would help resolve the issue.

Meanwhile, the Chinese official refused to comment on sanctions that the West is advocating against Iran for its nuclear program.

The Pentagon says the US has asked the UN Security Council to approve a resolution within weeks to prepare the groundwork for new sanctions against Tehran.

On Tuesday, Iran began enriching uranium to a level of 20 percent at its Natanz enrichment facility under the surveillance of inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog.

The move comes after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tasked the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) with enriching uranium to 20 percent in order to meet the demands of the country's cancer patients. The medical reactor will soon run out of fuel.

Iran had earlier informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that it would start enriching uranium to 20 percent on Tuesday in the presence of the agency's inspectors and observers.

AEOI Director Ali-Akbar Salehi on Tuesday confirmed the beginning of uranium enrichment to a 20 percent purity level at the Natanz plant.

The top nuclear official said that the doors are still open for talks with Iran about a nuclear fuel swap.

"The beginning of the enrichment is not tantamount to the end of interaction and negotiations on a UN-brokered proposal on a fuel swap," he said.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is still ready to continue cooperation if the negotiating parties act wisely and end wasting time," Salehi underlined.

Iran says it began the high level uranium enrichment after the Western side spearheaded by the US refused to consider the country's concerns over the nuclear draft deal.