 
CHANNELS SPACEWAR WIRE MILITARY SPACE UAV NEWS MILITARY COMMS CYBERWARS MISSILE NEWS RAYGUNS TERRORWARS SPACEDAILY TERRADAILY MARSDAILY SPACE TRAVEL SPACEMART SPACE DATABASE  SERVICES |  
Iran pledge Sunday it was committed to cooperating with the UN's atomic energy watchdog to clear up international suspicions it is secretly developing nuclear weapons, but asserted it also expecting European powers to meet their commitments to the Islamic republic. "Based on the framework of understanding with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), we will continue our work until we clarify the ambiguities," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said. "The presence of the IAEA's inspectors in Iran is within this framework and this will continue in the future," he added. But Asefi again reiterated that Iran expected Britain, France and Germany to meet their side of a deal struck in October last year when Iran agreed to allow a tougher IAEA probe. "We are expecting the IAEA and the Europeans to fulfill their obligations and normalise Iran's nuclear case there," Asefi said. Under the deal last year, the European Union's 'big three' held out the carrot of providing peaceful nuclear assistance to Iran if the IAEA established the country was clean of a covert weapons programme. The details of such potential assistance were not given at the time, but Iran consistently refers to the terms of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) whereby signatories commit themselves to exchange peaceful nuclear techology. Iran, however, has yet to be given the all-clear by the IAEA, and has been chastised for failing to disclose key elements of its programme including its research on advanced P2 centrifuges capable of enriching uranium to weapons-grade. IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei will give a report on Iran's nuclear activities to the next IAEA's board of governors meeting in June, based on the inspectors' findings to be submitted by the end of May. Tehran vigorously denies US and Israeli allegations that it is seeking nuclear weapons, and is pressing for its dossier to be taken off the top of the IAEA's agenda during the June meeting -- something that most diplomats say is very unlikely. All rights reserved. Copyright 2003 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Quick Links
|
|
| The contents herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2002 - SpaceDaily. AFP Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |