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Iran won't surrender under threats: FM spokesman
1/5/2006 10:44

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.



Xinhua News