Iran Says UN Nuclear Referral Isn't in U.S. Interests

Iran's new top nuclear negotiator,
Ali Ardshir Larijani, said a United Nations Security Council
referral on Iran's nuclear program wouldn't be in U.S. interests
and that it will widen talks beyond Britain, France and Germany.
``A referral to the Security Council isn't in the interest
of the Americans or the Europeans,'' said Larijani at a press
conference in Vienna. ``I am optimistic that we can pursue more
negotiations.''
Iran will expand talks beyond the so-called EU-3 to include
developing countries like Brazil and South Africa, Larijani said.
At the same time, Iran may pursue ``parallel track'' negotiations
with the Europeans. France canceled the next round of talks that
had been scheduled for Aug. 31. The country wants to present a
plan for ending its deadlock with the Europeans within the next
month, Larijani said.
It's the first foreign trip by Larijani since he replaced
Hassan Rowhani on Aug. 15 as head of the Supreme National
Security Council. International Atomic Energy Agency chief
Mohamed ElBaradei met Larijani today to discuss ``confidence-
building measures'' the country had agreed to with the
organization. Iran resumed uranium processing on Aug. 5. Enriched
uranium is the fuel used to generate electricity or nuclear
weapons.
Calling the IAEA Iran's ``main counterpart'' in its
negotiations, Larijani stuck by earlier statements that Iran
won't give up its nuclear fuel program. The IAEA is due to
produce a report detailing Iran's resumption of uranium
conversion on Sept. 3.

U.S. Position

The U.S. government said it would refer Iran to the Security
Council unless it halts its uranium processing program. Iran
rejected an IAEA resolution on Aug. 11 urging it to freeze the
program.
``If Iran doesn't take the steps described in the
resolution, we would expect that the next step would be referral
to the Security Council,'' Adam Ereli, deputy State Department
spokesman, said.
Arguments that Iran doesn't need nuclear power because it
has the world's second largest oil reserves ``don't have much
ground,'' Larijani said. ``Fossil fuels are on the decline at a
global level.''
Iran's oil production is depleting between 300,000 barrels
and 400,000 barrels of daily output a year, the nation's energy
minister, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, said July 26. Iran's 4.11
million barrel daily production quota is the second highest in
the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

`Nuclear Apartheid'

Energy needs in Iran are expected to double in the next 20
years to about 60,000 megawatts annually. Iran's legislature last
year approved plans for nuclear power to generate 20,000
megawatts of energy for the country's 68 million people by 2025.
Iran's first electricity from nuclear power will be
generated next year, Larijani said. The reactor at Bushehr, a $1
billion venture built with Russian scientists and engineers, will
generate about 1,000 megawatts of electricity. The country will
unveil more planned reactors this year.
``The nuclear powers have it in the back of their mind to
form a nuclear fuel cartel,'' said Larijani. ``There is a nuclear
apartheid taking shape.''
One of two representatives on Iran's security council
appointed by the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, Larijani was formerly Minister of Culture and Islamic
Guidance.

UN Referral for Iran Nuclear Program Is `Next Step,' U.S. Says

The U.S. government said it will
refer Iran to the United Nations Security Council unless it halts
its uranium processing program, after the Iranian government
rejected calls from a nuclear watchdog to stop the work.
Iran rejected a resolution from the United Nations
International Atomic Energy Agency urging it to freeze the
uranium processing, which it restarted on Aug. 8, and vowed to
become a nuclear fuel exporter within the next decade.
``If Iran doesn't take the steps described in the
resolution, we would expect that the next step would be referral
to the Security Council,'' Adam Ereli, deputy State Department
spokesman, said yesterday at a press briefing in Washington.
The resolution ``expresses serious concern'' and ``urges
Iran to re-establish full suspension of all enrichment related
activities'' and allow the IAEA to put back seals on equipment at
a plant in central Iran, according to the text. U.S. opposition
to Iran's program is driven by concern that nuclear materials
might be handed to terrorist groups.
IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei was requested to
report on Iran's compliance by Sept. 3 under the resolution.
French, German and U.K. diplomats wrote the measure.
Yesterday's resolution ``is a vote of no-confidence in the
agency,'' said the Middle Eastern country's chief delegate to the
IAEA in Vienna, Cyrus Nasseri, at a press conference today in
Vienna. ``It is absurd.''

`Dangerous Course'

The U.S. and its European allies want to stop Iran from
pursuing research efforts that may lead to the building of a
nuclear weapon.
The document ``shows that the international community is
united in determining that Iran move off the dangerous course
that it is on,'' said the U.S. ambassador to the IAEA, Greg
Schulte.
Iran implemented a voluntary freeze on its uranium
processing in November. The IAEA asked it to suspend developing
the nuclear fuel cycle in order to ``build confidence'' among
member states that its program was for peaceful purposes only.
Iran has in the past given false information to UN inspectors
about its atomic program.
Iranian officials on Aug. 10 removed UN seals on equipment
used in uranium enrichment at a facility in Isfahan. Isfahan is
the site of Iran's largest nuclear research center, employing as
many as 3,000 scientists, and may be the primary location of
Iran's nuclear weapons program, according to the Web site of the
defense research organization GlobalSecurity.org.
The three European allies of the U.S. have been conducting
negotiations with Iran on limiting its enrichment program, a
process that produces the material to fuel a nuclear power plant
or bomb. The U.S. government, which has no formal diplomatic ties
with Iran, hasn't officially joined the talks.

Fuel Plans

Iran, the second-biggest producer in the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries, will develop its nuclear fuel
capability for future exports, Nasseri said yesterday. The
country will continue converting raw uranium into uranium
hexafluoride gas at its Isfahan plant, Nasseri said. Iran will
keep its enrichment facility in Natanz, south of Tehran, closed
for now, he said.
``We'd like to be a supplier of energy as we are in oil and
gas as well,'' Nasseri said.
ElBaradei yesterday confirmed that Isfahan was under agency
observation with inspectors on the ground. The plant, located in
central Iran, isn't capable of enriching uranium, according to
the IAEA.
``Whether Iran resumes full suspension is up to Iran to
decide,'' said ElBaradei, a 63-year-old former Egyptian diplomat.
``There's a window of opportunity to regulate the situation.''
The IAEA resolution also urged Iran to continue negotiating
with the EU-3 to overcome the current impasse. The director
general was ``encouraged by statements'' that talks would
continue.

Iran rejected a resolution from the
United Nations nuclear watchdog agency urging it to freeze a
uranium processing program, and vowed to become a nuclear fuel
exporter within the next decade.
The resolution ``is a vote of no-confidence in the agency,''
said the Middle Eastern country's chief delegate to the
International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Cyrus Nasseri, at a
press conference today in Vienna. ``It is absurd.''
The IAEA's 35-member board of governors earlier passed a
resolution drafted by European diplomats criticizing Iran's
resumption of uranium processing and calling on the Islamic
government to freeze its nuclear fuel program. The U.S. and its
European allies want to stop Iran from pursuing research efforts
that may lead to the building of a nuclear weapon.
The resolution ``expresses serious concern'' and ``urges Iran
to re-establish full suspension of all enrichment related
activities'' and allow the IAEA to put back seals on equipment at
a plant in central Iran, according to the text. It asked IAEA
Director General Mohamed ElBaradei to report on Iran's compliance
by Sept. 3. French, German and U.K. diplomats wrote the measure.

`Dangerous Course'

The document ``shows that the international community is
united in determining that Iran move off the dangerous course that
it is on,'' said the U.S. ambassador to the IAEA, Greg Schulte.
Iran implemented a voluntary freeze on its uranium processing
in November. The IAEA asked it to suspend developing the nuclear
fuel cycle in order to ``build confidence'' among member states
that its program was for peaceful purposes only. Iran has in the
past given false information to UN inspectors about its atomic
program.
Iranian officials yesterday removed UN seals on equipment
used in uranium enrichment at a facility in Isfahan. Isfahan is
the site of Iran's largest nuclear research center, employing as
many as 3,000 scientists, and may be the primary location of
Iran's nuclear weapons program, according to the Web site of the
defense research organization GlobalSecurity.org.
U.S. opposition to Iran's program is driven by concerns that
nuclear materials might be handed to terrorist groups. The Bush
administration has maintained its support for negotiations as a
way to solve the dispute, and President George W. Bush this week
welcomed plans from Iran's new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to
offer new ideas in that framework.

Ahmadinejad's Visa

Bush said today he expects the U.S. to issue a visa to
Ahmadinejad to allow him to attend the UN General Assembly in New
York in September. The Iranian leader plans to address the UN
Millennium Summit and the General Assembly.
Bush said the U.S. is ``still investigating allegations''
that Ahmadinejad was involved in the 1979 seizure of U.S. hostages
in Tehran, a charge Iran has denied. Morteza Ramandi, spokesman
for Iran's mission to the UN, said yesterday that Ahmadinejad
applied for a visa, is awaiting a response and that Iran is not
aware of any problem.
The three European allies of the U.S. have been conducting
negotiations with Iran on limiting its enrichment program, a
process that produces the material to fuel a nuclear power plant
or bomb. The U.S. government, which has no formal diplomatic ties
with Iran, hasn't officially joined the talks.

Fuel Plans

Iran, the second-biggest producer in the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries, will develop its nuclear fuel
capability for future exports, Nasseri said. The country will
continue converting raw uranium into uranium hexafluoride gas at
its Isfahan plant, Nasseri said. Iran will keep its enrichment
facility in Natanz, south of Tehran, closed for now, he said.
``We like to be a supplier of energy as we are in oil and gas
as well,'' Nasseri said.
ElBaradei confirmed that Isfahan was under agency observation
with inspectors on the ground. The plant, located in central Iran,
isn't capable of enriching uranium, according to the IAEA.
``Whether Iran resumes full suspension is up to Iran to
decide,'' said ElBaradei, a 63-year-old former Egyptian diplomat.
``There's a window of opportunity to regulate the situation.''
The IAEA resolution also urged Iran to continue negotiating
with the EU-3 to overcome the current impasse. The director
general was ``encouraged by statements'' that talks would
continue.

`Not Iraq'

The Iranian delegation's statement delivered to the IAEA's
board of governors singled out the U.S. for its fiercest
criticism. Iran highlighted the U.S.'s unproven allegation of a
functioning nuclear weapons program in Iraq and its decision to
invade the country in March 2003. The delegates said that the U.S.
was using the same tactics against Iran.
``Iran is not Iraq, and the United States is not the self-
appointed policeman of the world anymore,'' the two-page statement
said.
Energy needs in Iran are expected to double in the next 20
years to about 60,000 megawatts annually. The government said it
wants to generate about 20,000 megawatts of nuclear power for the
country's 68 million people by 2025, Nasseri said.

Iran Breaks UN Seals at Plant; EU Weighs Response

Iran today removed United Nations
seals on equipment used in uranium enrichment at the Isfahan
facility, as the International Atomic Energy Agency debated a
resolution calling on the government in Tehran to halt nuclear
work.
``The seals were broken, and our cameras and surveillance
system is fully operational,'' IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky in
Vienna said in a telephone interview. ``They have indicated that
they intend to operate all parts of the facility, in time,
although it will take a while to get everything up and running.''
France, Germany and the U.K. circulated a draft resolution
calling on Iran to resume its suspension of nuclear activity, and
the IAEA Board of Governors will meet tomorrow to consider the
measure, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said.
The U.S. wants to block Iran, which it brands a state sponsor
of terrorism, from developing nuclear weapons that might pose a
global threat. The three European allies of the U.S. have been
conducting negotiations with Iran on limiting its program.
``It is essential that we break this current impasse, and I
believe the best way is to continue the discussions of the EU
three with the Iranians,'' UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told
reporters today in New York. ``They should search for a solution
in conformity with international norms, and I have indications
from both sides that they are prepared to continue searching for
a solution.''

UN Sanctions

UN sanctions are a ``potential consequence'' if Iran defies
the allies, U.S. President George W. Bush said yesterday. Bush
said he welcomed the assertion by Iran's new president, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, that Iran was willing to continue talks.
Iranian nuclear workers began feeding uranium ore
concentrate into the first part of its process line at the
Isfahan plant, the IAEA said yesterday. The process leads to
enriched uranium, which may be used in power plants or nuclear
weapons.
``This facility is one Iran has a right to operate as long
as it is supervised by us, and that is being done,'' Gwozdecky
said. ``But it would be better if it was not operated, in terms
of the atmosphere.''
Iran agreed in November to suspend work on uranium and
allowed the IAEA to seal the plant as a confidence-building
gesture.
Some analysts believe the Iranian leadership agrees to
freeze the nuclear program only when the government encounters
technical problems with enriching uranium, according to Patrick
Clawson, an economist who has written about Iran and nuclear
proliferation.

Stop and Start

``As soon as they think they've come up with a solution,
then they cause a political crisis by announcing that they're no
longer going to freeze their activities, and then they race ahead
as quickly as they can until they encounter a new problem,''
Clawson, a deputy director at the Washington Institute for Near
East Policy, said in a telephone interview.
``It may be coincidental, but this view is consistent with
the reality,'' Clawson said.
Ahmadinejad said he will put forward unspecified ideas to
resolve the standoff with the U.S. and European governments after
forming his Cabinet. The Iranian president, who U.S. officials
say was a leader of the student revolt against the U.S. Embassy
in Tehran in 1979, yesterday said the U.S. and its European
allies were treating Iran as if ``the time was 100 years ago and
our country was their colony,'' according to the Islamic Republic
News Agency.
Iran is the second-biggest oil producer in the Organization
of Petroleum Exporting Countries. It pumped almost 4 million
barrels of crude a day last month, according to Bloomberg
estimates.
Energy needs in Iran are expected to double in the next 20
years to about 60,000 megawatts annually. The government said it
wants to generate about 7,000 megawatts of nuclear power for the
country's 68 million people.

UN Urges `Maximum Restraint' Over Iran's Nuclear Work

The United Nations nuclear watchdog
urged diplomats to exercise ``maximum restraint'' as they try to
avert a crisis between Iran and the U.S. over the Islamic
Republic's resumption of uranium conversion activities.
``I would request all parties to exercise maximum
restraint,'' International Atomic Energy Agency Director Mohamed
ElBaradei said at a news conference in Vienna. ``The only way
these problems can be solved is at the negotiating table.''
The IAEA's board of directors began an emergency meeting
after Iran yesterday resumed uranium conversion activities at its
nuclear plant in the central city of Isfahan. ElBaradei
criticized the Iranian decision to resume its nuclear program
``unilaterally.''
Iranian officials will meet with French, German and U.K.
diplomats twice more before October, ElBaradei said. The so-
called EU-3 offered Iran technology and economic incentives to
stop its uranium processing activities. The Islamic Republic
rejected their offer on Aug. 6.
``The operations at Isfahan will continue,'' said Iran's
head of delegation to the IAEA, Cyrus Nasseri. Iran will probably
remove UN seals tomorrow on additional uranium processing
equipment under suspension, Nasseri said. IAEA observers are in
place and will record the removal of the seals, agency
spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said.

New President

The U.S.-backed European diplomatic effort to get Iran to
step back from the brink of pursuing nuclear arms is a test of
wills between Europe and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was sworn in as
Iran's new president Aug. 3. Conversion is an initial step in
enriching uranium, or increasing the concentration of the U-235
isotope that starts and sustains a nuclear reaction.
``Iran must not be allowed to violate its international
commitments and must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons,''
U.S. Ambassador to the IAEA George Schultes said.
The U.S. State Department said in May that it would
recommend that the IAEA refer Iran to the UN Security Council for
possible sanctions were it to end the suspension of uranium
enrichment activities. Any attempt to send Iran to the Security
Council would require a majority vote by the IAEA's 35-member
board.
The so-called non-aligned movement of countries, which has
13 of the board's 35 seats, said that it recognizes Iran's legal
right under international treaties to process uranium and called
for the Islamic Republic to return to negotiations.

Suspension `Voluntary'

Iran's suspension was ``a voluntary and non-legally binding
confidence building measure and it should not be interpreted in
any way as inhibiting or restricting the inalienable right of
member states to develop atomic energy,'' said the group's head,
Malaysian Ambassador Rajmah Hussain.
Russia, which has supplied Iran with the reactor for a
nuclear power station in Bushehr, called on Tehran to stop ``work
on conversion of uranium and continue close cooperation with the
IAEA,'' according to a statement on the Russian Foreign Ministry
Web site.
Iran could have ``continued the moratorium without any harm
to its nuclear energy program,'' it said. Iran's ``only nuclear
energy station, in Bushehr, is fully supplied with fuel from
Russia.'' The participants in the nuclear talks should avoid
``hasty, ill-considered steps'' that could lead to a crisis, the
Russian ministry said.
Iran says it's pursuing nuclear power to hedge against
diminishing oil reserves. Its existing crude production is
depleting at an annual rate of as much as 9.5 percent, Iranian
Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said July 27. Iran is the
second-biggest oil producer in OPEC.

`Insult'

Energy needs in Iran are expected to double in the next 20
years to about 60,000 megawatts annually. The government wants to
generate about 7,000 megawatts of nuclear power for the country's
68 million people.
Ahmadinejad called the EU-3's latest proposal ``an insult''
in a telephone conversation yesterday with UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Annan urged Iran to exercise ``restraint'' in re-starting its
conversion program.
``They have talked in a way as if the Iranian nation was
suffering from backwardness and the time was 100 years ago and
our country was their colony,'' IRNA cited the Iranian president
as saying.
``This process is aimed to normalize a relationship that has
been strained for the last quarter century,'' ElBaradei said.
``It will take time to build confidence, first with Europe and
eventually with the United States.''
Relations between the U.S. and Iran deteriorated in 1979
after students stormed the American embassy in Tehran, holding 52
people hostage for 444 days. In 1995, President Bill Clinton
banned U.S. companies and their foreign subsidiaries from
conducting business with Iran.
The U.S. can unilaterally impose sanctions on foreign
companies investing more than $20 million a year in Iran under
the 1996 Iran-Libya Sanctions Act. The law has never been
enforced.

Iran Resumes Uranium Conversion Against UN Wishes

Iran resumed uranium conversion
activities at its nuclear plant in the central city of Isfahan
today in a move that could prompt the United Nations Security
Council to impose sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Iran began to feed uranium ore concentrate into the first
part of its process line, the International Atomic Energy Agency
said in an e-mailed statement. The Vienna-based UN agency said
that IAEA seals preventing Iran from completing the uranium
enrichment process remain intact.
Iran's decision to resume uranium conversion will probably
end negotiations with France, Germany and the U.K. The so-called
EU-3 countries offered Iran trade and technology incentives in
return for a halt in the nuclear fuel cycle. Iran rejected their
latest offer Aug. 6. The U.S. said the Security Council in New
York should discuss possible sanctions, if Iran resumed
processing.
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the U.S would
confer with the EU-3 countries on the next step. ``This is Iran
thumbing its nose at a productive approach by the EU-3, and we'll
have to work together to take a response,'' Ereli told reporters
in Washington.
The Islamic Republic also named Ali Larijani to replace
Hassan Rohani as Iran's top nuclear negotiator, according to the
official Islamic Republic News Agency. Rohani had led Iran's
efforts to craft an agreement with European negotiators.
The U.S.-backed European diplomatic effort to get Iran to
step back from the brink of pursuing atomic arms is a test of
wills between Europe and new Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, who was sworn in as president Aug. 3.
The IAEA will hold an emergency meeting of its board of
governors tomorrow in Vienna to discuss Iran's decision to
restart its uranium program. Conversion is an initial step in
enriching uranium, or boosting the concentration of the U-235
isotope that starts and sustains a nuclear reaction.