By DPA,
Tehran : Iran’s former president Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani Friday accused the UN nuclear watchdog of setting a “new trap” in its nuclear dispute with Tehran.
In its latest report, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran had failed to provide explanations for intelligence indicating it may have pursued a nuclear arms programme.
The report renewed “baseless claims from the past” and “is a new trap for Iran because we have already clarified all outstanding issues with the IAEA,” Rafsanjani told a Friday prayer ceremony.
In line with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, “Iran’s rights are very clear and our only fault is that we gained the necessary nuclear technology for peaceful use by ourselves,” he said.
“The US and its Western friends should not take revenge in this way just because a country is not dependent on their technical know-how,” said Rafsanjani, who still plays an influential role in Iran, although as opposition to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Iran has been slapped with UN sanctions because it rejected demands to suspend uranium enrichment, which some countries in the West fear is geared towards making a bomb. Iran says its programme is peaceful.
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana is due to present Iran new incentives for it to scrap enrichment. Proposals put forward by Iran were rejected because they did not include the main demand of enrichment suspension.