| Global update |
Iran refuses to stop
nudear enriching
BY GEORGE JAHN
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DAVOS, Switzerland — A confi
dential summary of talks between
key European powers and Iran made
available on Tuesday shows there has
been no progress in getting Iran to
scrap nuclear enrichment, even
though Tehran acknowledged it does
not need nuclear energy.
The United States and several oth
er countries fear Iran is seeking to en
rich uranium not to the low level
needed to generate power but to
weapons-grade uranium that forms
the core of nuclear warheads.
Iran publicly insists it only seeks to
make low-grade enriched uranium
for nuclear fuel. But the summary of
the last meeting on the issue involv
ing representatives of France, Britain,
Germany and Iran says Tehran ac
knowledged what Washington and
its allies have argued all along — that
the oil-rich country has no need for
nuclear energy.
“Iran recognizes explicitly that its
fuel cycle program cannot be justified
on economic grounds,” the docu
ment says.
Diplomats familiar with the talks
said on condition of anonymity that
the atmosphere between the two sides
had improved during the second
round held in Geneva on Jan. 17.
But they agreed that no progress
was being made on the Europeans’ in
sistence that Iran’s present temporary
suspension of its enrichment programs
be turned into a commitment to per
manently mothball all such activities.
“The two positions cannot coexist,”
said one of the diplomats, from a West
European nation. “If the impasse can
not be resolved, then there will be no
solution,” clearing the path for Iran to
resume work on activities that will al
low it to enrich uranium, he said.
Another diplomat agreed there was
no progress on the core issue but ex
pressed hope that common ground
could be found in future rounds.
A separate confidential memoran
dum summarizing talks focusing on
political and security themes said the
atmosphere was “more conducive
and productive” than the initial
round held Dec. 21.
Iran suspended uranium enrichment
and all related activities in November,
derailing U.S. attempts to have it re
ported to the U.N. Security Council for
alleged violations of the Nuclear Non
proliferation TVeaty. The International
Atomic Energy Agency, in Vienna, Aus
tria, is policing the freeze.
Reflecting its continued view that
it has a right to resume enrichment
programs in the near future, Iran re
cently said it would decide within
three months whether to continue
the suspension.
Concerns about Iran grew after reve
lations in mid-2002 of two secret nu
clear facilities — a uranium enrich
ment plant at Natanz and a heavy
water production plant near Arak.
That led to a subsequent IAEA investi
gation of what turned out to be near
ly two decades of covert nuclear ac
tivities, including suspicious “dual
use” experiments that can be linked
to weapons programs.
President Bush has labeled Iran
part of an “axis of evil” with North
Korea and prewar Iraq.
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