Iran Stymies Nuclear Non-Proliferation Meeting

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Iranian ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh. Iran Has No Intention To Suspend Nuclear Enrichment
Tehran (RIA Novosti) Apr 29 - Iran does not intend to discuss the suspension of its nuclear enrichment activities, 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. "What has been said about suspension [of Iran's uranium enrichment] is not correct and this is not true," Hosseini said while commenting on the results of a meeting held in Ankara on April 25-26 between Ali Larijani, the Iranian top nuclear negotiator, and Javier Solana, the EU's leading foreign policy and security official.

At the same time, Hosseini said certain progress had been achieved at the Ankara talks and the sides were nearing a united position on some issues of their negotiations, which will restart in two weeks. The UN Security Council voted unanimously March 24 to impose broader sanctions against the Islamic Republic for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, which the country resumed in January 2006 for what it claims to be a civilian nuclear power generating program. The new UN Security Council resolution was passed following Tehran's refusal to comply with the previous resolution adopted December 23, 2006.

by Staff Writers
Vienna (AFP) Apr 30, 2007
Iran rejected a call for full compliance with nuclear safeguards on Monday, stymieing the opening day of a conference here preparing a review of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), diplomats said. Delegates from some of the 188 countries taking part said they feared the two-week meeting in Vienna could now descend into the same procedural wrangling that tarnished the last review conference in New York two years ago.

The stakes were even higher this time around, given the developing nuclear crises concerning both Iran and North Korea, they added.

Iranian ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh upset the opening session when he said that an agenda item reaffirming the need for full compliance with the treaty was not "appropriate," according to a diplomat summarising the debate.

Soltanieh insisted the wording from 2005's agenda covering compliance to the NPT should not be modified for the next review meeting's agenda.

"This item could create disputes by creating too much focus on one country. We don't want a direction given," Soltanieh said.

The meeting's chairman, Japanese ambassador Yukiya Amano, told AFP that he was surprised by the Iranian move: "I knew Iran had some problems but this is something new ... Compliance has been an issue in the NPT for a long time."

A diplomat said Iran's position showed it wanted to block a full debate on compliance.

The NPT, which went into effect at the height of the Cold War in 1970 and was extended indefinitely in 1995, is reviewed every five years. The last such meeting in 2005 failed to resolve any key questions, with non-aligned countries and nuclear powers bickering over an agenda.

The Vienna meeting is the first of a series of preparatory sessions ahead of the next overall review in 2010, and it is being held as Iran is being subjected to UN sanctions for refusing to stop uranium enrichment.

Western powers say they fear Iran is developing a nuclear arsenal, but Tehran denies this and says its nuclear program is a peaceful effort to generate electricity.

German ambassador Ruediger Luedeking, speaking on behalf of the EU presidency, said a debate on procedure would be "unproductive and should not stand in the way of a substantial discussion" on the problems with the NPT.

One diplomat said Arab nations, which normally back Iran at NPT discussions, were "not happy because there is a reference (they like) to resolutions on the Middle East (a call for a nuclear-free-zone there) in the agenda."

Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik had opened the meeting by saying: "Let us not mince words, the NPT is in a serious crisis today."

Another diplomat noted that the Vienna meeting had to have agreement on the agenda by mid-Wednesday, according to its rules.

North Korea's nuclear programme -- which, unlike Iran, has actually produced atomic bombs -- was also a source of concern. Negotiations to dismantle its operations have stalled.

The United States called Monday for cracking down on nations that withdraw from the NPT, as North Korea did.

"It is important ... for us to make such withdrawal more unattractive before any other State Party violator is tempted to follow such a course," US head of delegation Christopher Ford said.

Source: RIA Novosti

Source: Agence France-Presse

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South Korea Wants Talks With North Korea On Opening Rail Link

Seoul (AFP) April 30, 2007
South Korea urged North Korea on Monday to hold military talks this week to prepare for the first test runs of railways across their heavily fortified frontier in half a century. Seoul has suggested that chief delegates to the working-level talks meet Thursday at the truce village of Panmunjom, defence ministry spokesman Song Gi-Hong told AFP.

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