IRAN: Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman holds news conference with foreign and domestic media in Tehran

The Iranian Foreign ministry said on Sunday (November 26) that although Iran wanted to have a uranium enrichment facility on Iranian soil it had not ruled out the possibility of enrichment taking place in Russia. The United States and European allies suspect the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme is a cover for building a bomb, and have drafted UN sanctions against Tehran. The UN nuclear watchdog's board of governors on Thursday (November 23) indefinitely blocked Iran's bid for technical aid for a reactor project over concerns it could be secretly used to yield bomb-grade plutonium. Tehran says its nuclear agenda, anchored on enrichment of uranium, is limited to generating electricity or, in the case of the Arak reactor project, radio-isotopes for medical ends. Speaking at a regular weekly news conference on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini, said, "Iranian officials have said in the past the basis has been to have uranium enrichment on Iranian soil and any other proposal, including the Russian proposal, can be put on the agenda and discussed. It has never been dropped from the agenda." Hosseini said Iran would carry on with its nuclear programme, "We will continue to implement our commitments in the framework of NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) and IAEA's rules. Naturally the most qualified source in that regard is the IAEA and if the case (Iran's nuclear case) returns to the agency the existing ambiguities can be discussed and solved better than before." A senior Iranian official said on Friday (November 24) that Iran would cease to be an energy exporter within two decades if it failed to resolve its energy problems. Tehran cites its growing electricity needs as a reason for its controversial nuclear programme.

ITN Source | November 26, 2006

Tags:. .possibility. .past. .suspect. .limited. .energy