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Iran pleased with UN report
Photo: AFP

Iran says report confirms atomic work peaceful

Tehran vows to resist political pressure in wake of atomic watchdog's latest report

Iran said on Saturday the UN atomic watchdog had confirmed its nuclear program was peaceful and vowed to resist political pressure to change it, a news agency reported.

 

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on Friday said Iran had slowed its expansion of uranium enrichment and met some demands for transparency but added that allegations Tehran had researched how to build atom bombs looked credible.

 

The IAEA report will form the basis for talks on Sept. 2 of six major powers to look into harsher UN sanctions against Iran over its enrichment of uranium which the West fears is intended for making nuclear weapons.

 

"The report emphasized ... that Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful," Iran's envoy to IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh told the semi-official Fars news agency.

 

"It shows Iran has continued its cooperation with the agency ... but at the same time will not accept any political pressure to take measures beyond its legal commitments," he said.

 

The West believes Iran wants to produce atomic bombs under cover of a civilian nuclear fuel program but Tehran rejects the charge saying its nuclear work is a peaceful means to generate electricity.

 

US President Barack Obama has set a September deadline for Iran to agree to international talks about its uranium enrichment activities.

 

The IAEA said Iran was enriching uranium with about 300 fewer centrifuges than the almost 5,000 operating at the time of the last IAEA report, the first such scaleback in around three years. The report did not venture possible reasons.

 

However, the confidential UN watchdog report said Tehran had raised the total number of installed, though not all enriching, machines by some 1,000 to 8,308.

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.29.09, 16:37
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