Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that Iran is now a nuclear country, implying that ?Teheran has achieved nuclear know-how for energy purposes.?
The United States and its allies have been exerting political and propaganda pressure and have issued resolutions against Iran over its nuclear program, however, all their efforts have failed and Iran has now become a nuclear country, Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the local satellite Press TV.?
Addressing a crowd in the northern city of Karaj, the Iranian president said that cooperation rather than confrontation is the only way to resolve Iran’s nuclear energy program, according to the report.?
“We are open to cooperation based on our rights,” he added.?
On December 5, Iran had claimed a milestone on the eve of the Dec 20-21 talks in Geneva with six world powers, saying it has produced its first batch of locally mined uranium ore for enrichment, making it independent of foreign countries for a process the West fears is geared toward producing nuclear arms.?
Western officials downplayed the announcement, saying it had been expected and that Iran did not have enough ore to maintain the large-scale enrichment program that Teheran says it is building as a source of fuel for an envisaged network of nuclear reactors.?
Whatever its long-term purpose, the immediate effect of the announcement was clear; a message to the six world powers ahead of their talks with Iran in January in Geneva that uranium enrichment was not up for discussion, with Teheran determined to expand the program instead of scrapping it as the UN Security Council demands.?
Ahmadinejad warned Western countries that Iran would give a “regretting” response to anyone who “intends to prevent Iran from achieving its rights,” according to Press TV.?
He dismissed the sanction resolutions passed by the United Nations against Iran as “illegal” and added that sanctions would only “strengthen the Iranian nation and accelerate the pace of our progress.”?
According to earlier reports, the United States and the European Union prepared to impose a new round of sanctions against Iran in the following year over Teheran’s refusal to halt its controversial nuclear program.?
The West has long accused Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons under civilian disguise, although Teheran has always denied such charges.?
Teheran is looking forward to the next round of nuclear talks with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany (P5+1) in Istanbul early next year and believes the meeting will bring a promising outcome, a senior Iranian official said last week. ?
“We have seen this time (in Geneva) that all parties have managed to sit down and talk instead of threatening each other,” said Mohammad Ali Fathollahi, the deputy Iranian Foreign Minister in charge of Asia and Oceania Affairs. He echoed previous Iranian statements, calling the talks with China, France, Russia, Britain, the United States and Germany a “victory”. ?
Iran and the six countries met in Geneva on Dec 20-21 after a 14-month break. All parties agreed to continue the talks in late January in Turkey, and plan to discuss “practical ideas and ways (for) cooperating toward resolution” of concerns over Iran’s nuclear program, said EU chief Catherine Ashton. ?
Fathollahi arrived in Beijing for a regular bilateral meeting, and met with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on December 22. ?
“China’s stance to Iran’s nuclear development has always been very practical,” said Fathollahi, adding that the most important thing now is for the international community to recognize Iran’s right to peacefully continue its nuclear development. ?
“And we can say there is already progress on that after the meeting in Geneva,” he told the local press in Beijing through a translator. Fathollahi said Iran expects the next round of talks in January to be even more “practical and promising”. ?
The UN Security Council adopted a fourth round of sanctions against Teheran in June, despite its repeated rejections of allegations that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. ?
The US and other Western countries have also imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran for its program, but Fathollahi said US sanctions have no impact on his country. ?
“Iran has (few) economic exchanges with the US. It only sanctioned Iran to persuade its Western allies to do the same, so they can’t have any benefit from doing business with us either,” Fathollahi said. ?
Teheran is now capable of producing its own uranium yellowcake, the raw material for enrichment, instead of needing to import supplies. It announced the news ahead of the meeting in Geneva. Fathollahi said the advancement is a “natural result”. ?
“Iran is progressing in the field of science and technology, and that includes nuclear technology as well,” he said. ?
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China Daily Asia Weekly on December 31, 2010, page 04
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