Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said on
Sunday that the country would not surrender under the West's threats and
stresses or suspend uranium-related activities.
"We are ready to resolve this issue through dialogue, but we won't talk with
them and surrender under threats and stresses," Asefi told a weekly press
conference.
"We are prepared to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) at the highest level if the UN Security Council and IAEA keep the nuclear
issues staying at IAEA range," he added.
Meanwhile, he stressed that Iran's act would correspond to the performance of
the UN Security Council.
"If the other side takes radical measures, we have to react radically; if
they take rational decisions, of cause we will be also rational," Asefi said,
adding the retreating from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and IAEA was not
on agenda now.
IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei submitted a report on Friday to the UN Security
Council, saying Iran had ignored the council's non-binding demand to suspend all
uranium enrichment by the Friday deadline.
However, Mohammed Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization,
has denied that there was any negative point in the report, but stressed that
Iran was currently working on extraordinary nuclear equipments (centrifuges) for
its uranium-related activities and would not give up its enrichment program.
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, also
sent a letter on Saturday to ElBaradei, saying that if Iran's nuclear issue
remains in the IAEA, Iran is ready to cooperate with the agency and help resolve
it.
The IAEA has prompted calls from Western powers for tougher Security Council
actions against Iran.
Foreign ministers of five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- the
United States, Britain, France, Russia and China --plus Germany are scheduled to
meet in New York on May 9 to discuss response to ElBaradei's report.
Iran announced earlier this month that it had produced low-grade enriched
uranium by launching 164 centrifuges at the uranium enrichment facility in the
central town of Natanz.
That marked a technical leap in the process for nuclear power plant
construction, which immediately aroused strong international concern.
Iran claims that it will not give in to pressure, saying that its nuclear
program is fully peaceful.