Iran said on Friday it would end voluntary co-operation with the
United Nations over its nuclear program, including snap checks of
atomic sites, if Teheran was referred to the UN Security Council
for possible sanctions.
The United States and the European Union's three biggest powers
said on Thursday that talks with Iran to curb its nuclear program
were at an impasse and that Teheran should be brought before the
Security Council.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned that a
referral would have "consequences" for the West.
"The government will be obliged to end all of its voluntary
measures if sent to the UN council," Mottaki was quoted as saying
by the official IRNA news agency.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to end snap checks and resume
enrichment if Teheran's case is sent to the Security Council. A
bill passed by parliament in November made the threat a legal
obligation for the government.
Accusing Iran of turning its back on the international
community, the EU's big three - Britain, Germany and France - said
it had consistently breached its commitments and failed to show the
world that its nuclear activities were peaceful.
"Our talks with Iran have reached a dead end," German Foreign
Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after talks in Berlin with
his British and French counterparts and European Union foreign
policy chief Javier Solana.
A joint statement from the so-called EU3 countries said: "We
believe the time has now come for the Security Council to become
involved."
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice joined calls for an
emergency meeting of the board of governors of the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, to seek a
referral to the council, which has the power to impose
sanctions.
Iran escalated its nuclear standoff with the West on Tuesday
when it began removing the UN seals on equipment used to enrich
uranium - a process of purifying it for use as fuel in nuclear
power plants or, when very highly enriched, in bombs.
The European Union and United States believe Iran wants to
produce atomic fuel for weapons, but Teheran insists its nuclear
ambitions are limited to the peaceful generation of
electricity.
Mottaki said Iran, as a signatory to the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), had every right to conduct research
on producing uranium fuel.
"Iran does not need any country's permission," Mottaki said. "It
is our legitimate right to have nuclear technology."
Mottaki called on Germany, France and Britain, which have been
trying for more than two years to persuade Iran to abandon its
uranium enrichment program, to stop making a fuss over Iran's
nuclear activities.
"It is up to the EU3," he said. "We are ready to continue talks
that preserve our rights and also remove their concerns."
(China Daily January 14, 2006)
