Iran bars 2 IAEA inspectors from entry

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=131349§ionid=351020104


Iran says it has barred two UN nuclear inspectors from entering the country after they disclosed "false" information about the country's nuclear energy program.

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said on Monday that the two inspectors had leaked information about Iran's nuclear activities before the official issuance of a International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report, ISNA reported.

"Last week, Iranian officials informed the agency that two of its inspectors will no longer be allowed to enter Iran… Not only had they disclosed information before the official issuance of the report but also their report was false and unreal," he said.

Iran's point man on the nuclear issue added that the Islamic Republic has asked the IAEA to assign two new officials for further inspections at the country's nuclear facilities.

"In the last session of the IAEA Board of Governors, we voiced our objection to the incorrect report of the two inspectors. The report was unreal in its entirety," he said.

Salehi once again stressed Iran's commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, stating that "Tehran will not demand anything beyond its legal rights but will not give up its rights (either)."

"Inspections will be conducted based exactly on the nuclear safeguard agreement signed between Iran and the IAEA," he stressed.

Majlis orders 20% uranium enrichment

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=130660§ionid=351020101



Iranian Parliament (Majlis) speaker calls for the extension of Iran's uranium enrichment to a base level of 20-percent, as the US and EU continue efforts to impose additional unilateral sanctions on Tehran.

Addressing Iranian lawmakers at a parliamentary session on Wednesday, Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani criticized the West for putting together a new round of punitive measure against Iran, describing such pressures as "unjustified."

The Majlis speaker went on to censure EU members and the US for their failure to deliver their promise of supplying fuel to the Tehran Research Reactor, adding that the West had failed to respect the rules and regulations of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

"Majlis calls on the government to lay the base level for its enrichment activities at 20 percent as these countries have failed to respect the NPT regulations and did not supply fuel to the Tehran Research Reactor," the Fars news agency quoted Larijani as saying.

He urged the Iranian government to put up strong resistance against such measures, "so that the non-committed bullying countries realize that their unjustified pressure would only prompt Iran to raise the level of its enrichment activities based on its [domestic] requirements."

The remarks come as EU member states agreed on Monday to push ahead with plans to move beyond sanctions adopted in a United Nations Security Council resolution last week with additional measures.

On June 9, the Security Council adopted a resolution imposing a fourth round of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.

The new sanctions include further restrictions on trade insurance and financial transactions, and would target Iran's transport sector, particularly its shipping and air cargo operators.

Meanwhile, Larijani reacted to sanctions targeting Iran's shipping industry and warned the West of taking retaliatory measures against their ships.

"I am warning the US and certain adventurous countries that in case they plan to inspect the cargo of Iranian ships and planes, they should rest assured that we will do the same in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman," he said.

"This retaliation is part of our policy to protect our national interests," Larijani added.

Tehran rejects Western accusations of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, arguing that the International Atomic Energy Agency in numerous reports has confirmed the non-diversion of nuclear material in Iran.

US, Brazil differences on Iran 'serious'

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=128046§ionid=351020104



US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says that the US and Brazil have "very serious disagreements" over Iran's nuclear program.

"Certainly we have very serious disagreements with Brazil's diplomacy vis-à-vis Iran," Clinton said on Thursday in her most candid remarks yet about Brazil's work with Turkey in brokering the Tehran declaration.

She went even further to say that efforts made by Brazil and Turkey to find a peaceful solution to Iran's nuclear issue have made the world "more dangerous."

"We think buying time for Iran, enabling Iran to avoid international unity with respect to their nuclear program, makes the world more dangerous not less," Reuters quoted Clinton as saying.

The declaration, signed by the foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey, and Brazil, in the Iranian capital on May 17 commits Tehran to put 1,200 kg (2,640 lb) of its low-enriched uranium in escrow in Turkey in exchange for 120 kg (264 lb) of 20 percent-enriched nuclear fuel for the Tehran research reactor, which produces radioisotopes for cancer treatment.

One day after the Tehran declaration, the US submitted its draft sanctions resolution to the UN Security Council, saying it had convinced veto-wielding permanent members China and Russia to join its campaign.

Iran stresses that its nuclear program is a civilian one and its inalienable right given its membership in the International Atomic Energy Agency and as it is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Turkey to US: Take Tehran declaration

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=127249§ionid=351020104


Turkey has called on the United States to take the opportunity provided by the nuclear fuel swap declaration recently issued by Iran, Turkey and Brazil.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote a letter to US President Barack Obama, asking him not to dismiss the trilateral declaration and to give diplomacy a chance.

The 10-point document "presented an important opportunity to solve the issue through diplomatic means," AFP quoted a brief statement released on Friday by Erdogan's press office.

Ankara's call follows a move by Washington to circulate a draft resolution at the UN on a new round of sanctions against Iran, describing the fuel swap declaration as insufficient.

In a telephone conversation with Erdogan on Tuesday, Obama acknowledged the declaration, but said Washington would nevertheless continue to seek tougher UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The US and its allies have been accusing Iran of efforts to produce nuclear weapons - allegations that Tehran has categorically rejected.

Foreign ministers of Iran, Brazil and Turkey issued a deceleration on Monday which commits Tehran to sending about half of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in return for nuclear fuel for the Tehran research reactor.

The declaration immediately received a chilly welcome from the European Union, which described the move as "in the right direction," but said it stopped short of answering all of the West's concerns over Iran's nuclear program.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed hope on Friday that Iran's nuclear declaration would open the door to a negotiated settlement with the West.

In a speech delivered in Istanbul, the visiting UN chief hailed the "encouraging" declaration as "an important initiative in resolving international tensions over Iran's nuclear program by peaceful means."

Israel's nuke activities to be on agenda

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=127200§ionid=351020104


Iran's permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency says Israel's nuclear issue is to be on the agenda at the next Board of Governors meeting.

"Following a resolution in the IAEA Board of Governors condemning Israel's nuclear activities, the IAEA director general has to inform the member states of the latest developments in the implementation of this resolution," ISNA quoted Ali Asghar Soltanieh as saying on Friday.

Soltanieh who is in New York to attend the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference at the UN headquarters said that "based on the numerous meetings, the Non-Aligned movement member states have called for a report from the IAEA director general in the next meeting of the Board of Governors in June."

"Putting Israel's nuclear activities [on the] agenda is an unprecedented move by the Board of Governors," he stressed.

He also referred to the active role of the nongovernmental organizations, adding that these groups held numerous meetings in which they voiced their opposition to nuclear weapons and called for a ban on them and "this doubled the pressure exerted on nuclear weapon states."

He further explained that "Iran is opposed to nuclear weapons and demands quick and straightforward action to clear the world from nuclear arsenals."

Soltanieh referred to the challenge between nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states as the most important issue discussed and added that "the conference stresses the importance of the reaffirmation by nuclear weapon states of their commitment to full implementation of Article 1 & 6."

The 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons officially opened in May 2010 at UN Headquarters in New York.

Iran doubts West sincerity in swap deal

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=127090§ionid=351020104


Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has cast doubt on the sincerity of the West about a proposal to provide fuel for a research reactor in Tehran.

Larijani said that the West's reaction to a recent nuclear declaration announced by Iran testified to its insincerity in nuclear dealings with Tehran.

"Their reaction to the Tehran declaration proved that they are not sincere in the fuel swap," he said.

Following the three-way talks between Iran, Turkey and Brazil, Tehran announced a nuclear declaration on Monday whereby it would send some 1,200 kg of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for a total of 120 kg of higher enriched uranium.

The declaration came as part of an earlier plan to supply fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor which produces medical isotopes for cancer patients.

Iran had earlier refused to ship out its uranium under the original deal, citing guarantee concerns. Iranian officials, however, believe that the new declaration can provide Tehran with objective guarantees over the fuel delivery.

While the UN, Russia and China hailed the declaration, the US said that Washington and its allies were "seriously concerned" about the nuclear program although the transfer of low-enriched uranium outside Iranian soil would be a positive step.

The US said that it would continue to push for more sanctions against Iran with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying that the six powers discussing Iran's nuclear work had "reached an agreement on a strong draft."

The new draft resolution, the details of which were made public on Wednesday, calls on Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activities or face further UN Security Council sanctions.

If ratified, the draft will ban countries from selling new categories of heavy weaponry to Iran and will impose restrictions on the country's banking sector.

With the new draft resolution, Larijani said, the US showed that it was not willing to bring about change in its foreign policy on Iran.

Iran says the declaration leaves no excuse for the West to block the nuclear fuel swap, as Tehran has accepted their prior condition to ship out its uranium to a third country.

"Their previous excuse was that Iran has not accepted [their] demand to ship out 1,200 kilograms of its 3.5 percent-enriched uranium. They insistently said that it is Iran that is avoiding the acceptance of the proposal. Now that we have accepted this condition, they are creating other excuses," Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi told Press TV on Wednesday.

US hails anti-Iran UN bid, ignores swap

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=127074§ionid=351020104


The US president has hailed an anti-Iran UN Security Council (UNSC) draft resolution, ignoring Tehran's recent declaration on a nuclear fuel swap deal in Turkey.

"I am pleased that we have reached an agreement with our P5-plus-one partners on a strong resolution that we now have shared with our Security Council partners," President Barack Obama said in a joint press conference on Wednesday with his Mexican counterpart Felipe Calderon.

Obama said that Iran should "uphold its international obligations or face increased sanctions and pressure including UN sanctions."

The remarks come days after Iran issued a joint declaration with current UNSC members Turkey and Brazil announcing Iran's readiness to engage in a nuclear fuel swap with the West under which Tehran would ship 1,200 kg of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for 120 kg of higher-enriched uranium it requires for producing medical isotopes in Tehran's Research Reactor (TRR).

The declaration came as part of a plan to settle an ongoing dispute over Iran's enrichment program, while supplying fuel to the TRR for its medical productions mostly dedicated to cancer patients.

A day after Iran made the announcement; US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claimed that the six powers had "reached agreement on a strong draft with the cooperation of Russia and China."

Clinton's claim came after Russian, Chinese and UN officials welcomed Tehran's declaration on the nuclear swap in Turkey as a positive development.

The new draft resolution, details of which were made public on Wednesday, calls on Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activities or face further UN Security Council sanctions.

The draft, if approved, will ban countries from selling new categories of heavy weaponry to Iran and will impose restrictions on the country's banking sector.

The US says it is still "seriously concerned" about the Iranian nuclear program and would continue to push for more UNSC sanctions.

The US insistence on anti-Iran sanctions are widely reported to be influenced by powerful pro-Israeli groups in the US. Obama met Wednesday with a group of Jewish Congressmen to pledge his commitment to push through the sanctions resolution in the UNSC.

Iran says any punitive measure against its nuclear work would be legally baseless and unfair as the country's nuclear program is being fully monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

China renews call for diplomacy on Iran

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=127037§ionid=351020104


China says a draft UN Security Council resolution against Iran does not mean the end of diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.

"The circulation of the draft resolution at the Security Council does not mean that the door for the diplomatic efforts has been closed," Li Baodong, China's permanent representative to the UN, said on Wednesday.

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council (the United States, Russia, Britain, France, and China) and Germany began discussing the draft resolution on Wednesday, RIA Novosti reported.

"We have repeatedly stressed that even though the six countries launched the discussion of sanctions against Iran, diplomatic efforts should not be halted," Li said.

"Countries that maintain regular, legitimate economic and trade relations with Iran should not be punished due to Iran's nuclear issue," he added.

The draft resolution was introduced by the US on Tuesday only one day after Iran, Turkey, and Brazil signed a declaration in Tehran that names Turkey as the site of a nuclear fuel swap in which Tehran would exchange its low-enriched uranium for 20 percent enriched nuclear fuel for the Tehran research reactor, which produces radioisotopes for cancer treatment.

"We welcome and attach importance to the agreement that Iran signed with Brazil and Turkey, and this is a positive step forward in the right direction," the Chinese envoy said.