TEHRAN, October 7 (RIA Novosti) – Iran is prepared for talks with six world powers mediating Tehran’s controversial nuclear program but will not suspend its uranium enrichment, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said Sunday.
Iran has been at the center of international concerns over its nuclear program, which some countries, particularly the United States, suspect is geared toward nuclear weapons development. Tehran has consistently denied the claims, saying it needs nuclear power for civilian purposes.
“We are prepared to continue negotiations with the six powers [five permanent Security Council members: China, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom and France plus Germany] on equal and fair terms, with respect for the rights of all the parties involved and without preconditions,” Hosseini said.
In mid-September the six powers delayed a vote on a new set of sanctions against the Islamic Republic by November. The vote was postponed pending reports from the UN nuclear watchdog and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
The U.S. and France have urged tougher penalties for Iran, which is suspected of pursuing a covert nuclear weapons program. Tehran insists it needs its own nuclear fuel for power generation and wants to be independent from foreign supplies.
Iran has defied three consecutive UN resolutions against its nuclear program since last year and has called two previously-imposed rounds of sanctions illegal.
However, since early-summer talks between Larijani, the head of Iran’s Security Council, and Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Tehran has allowed two inspections of its 40-MW heavy water nuclear reactor in Arak, potentially capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium. Permission was given despite Iran’s refusal to grant access to the site following the second set of sanctions in March.