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Iran follows its own nuclear
line
By Golnaz Esfandiari
PRAGUE - The deputy head of Iran's Atomic
Energy Organization, Mohammad Saidi, told a
university conference Tuesday that the first stage
of suspension of uranium-related activities will
be lifted at a site in Isfahan in the next few
days.
The Isfahan facility is used to
convert raw uranium into a gas that can be fed
into enrichment centrifuges. Tehran says it had
already converted 37 tons of raw uranium into gas
before its suspension came into force.
Iran agreed in November to suspend all
uranium-enrichment activities in order to reach a
permanent deal with Great Britain, France, and
Germany - the so-called European Union big three
(EU-3) - aimed at assuring the international
community that Tehran is not pursuing the
development of nuclear weapons.
Iran says
its nuclear program is peaceful, while the United
States accuses the country of secretly developing
nuclear weapons. Enriched uranium can be used in
the production of nuclear bombs.
In recent
months, Iranian officials have expressed
discontent with the slow pace of talks with the
EU-3, which is promising trade and other benefits
if Iran gives assurances that it is not seeking to
produce nuclear weapons.
But the
negotiations have been dragging, with Iran saying
it will never give up uranium enrichment and
insisting that it has the right to pursue a
peaceful nuclear energy program.
The last
round of Iran/EU talks ended in London in March
inconclusively. Since then, in a sign of growing
frustration and impatience, several Iranian
officials have said that some frozen nuclear
activities will be resumed without giving any
specific date.
Mehdi Mozaffari, a
professor of political science and international
relations at Aarhus University in Denmark, told
RFE/RL that he believes Iran is attempting to gain
the upper hand in its negotiations with France,
Britain, and Germany.
"It is true that in
recent weeks there is an apparent change in
comments by Iranian officials and it shows that
the Islamic Republic - which was in a state of
defense - is trying to become more aggressive,"
Mozaffari said. "And it seems that they have come
to the conclusion that such a method will not have
a heavy price for them and at the same time more
time can be gained. And they are also trying to
take the initiative in their hands, because before
it was in the hands of the Europeans after the
IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency]."
On May 4, Iranian President Mohammad
Khatami said Tehran might decide to resume certain
activities. However, he added that these
activities do not yet include enrichment and that
Iran is determined to continue the talks with the
EU countries.
"We have not announced the
end of the negotiations, we will negotiate,"
Khatami said. "It is possible that we will decide
to resume some activities that are very far away
from enrichment, but I have to say that our aim is
to continue the negotiations and whenever it is
necessary and our European friends are ready,
these talks will continue with the [IAEA]."
Despite similar comments from Iranian
authorities, EU officials have warned that a
resumption of suspended activities would
constitute a breach of the November deal. Last
week, German Foreign Minister Joshka Fischer said
any resumption of enrichment activities would lead
to a collapse of the talks.
Monday, acting
State Department spokesman Tom Casey said any move
by Iran to resume activities such as preparation
of uranium for enrichment would be in clear
violation of its agreement with the EU-3. He
warned Iran against the consequences of such a
violation, without elaborating. US officials had
said before that Iran's nuclear dossier should be
referred to the UN Security Council for possible
sanctions.
However, professor Mozaffari
says that such a process could take months. "If
the Islamic Republic resumes some of its past
[nuclear] activities in Isfahan it will face
international [condemnation] but in the first
stage there will be statements and oral protests,"
he said. "Then the EU and US should become united
and the issue should be brought up in the June
[IAEA] meeting. And then the decision to refer
Iran to the Security Council should be adopted.
And then - if it goes to the Security Council - it
is not clear if a resolution will be adopted and
will not face a veto by Russia or China. Because
of this, it seems that Iranian authorities have
come to the conclusion that they can still play
games."
EU High Representative for Common
Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana said he
favors transferring the case of Iran's nuclear
activities to the IAEA if talks break down between
Iran and the EU. Iran's nuclear program will be
discussed at the IAEA board meeting in June.
The IAEA has not reacted yet to Tehran's
announcement that it will resume some frozen
nuclear activities. On May 2, IAEA director
general Muhammad ElBaradei called on Iran and the
EU to keep their nuclear talks alive and urged
Tehran to refrain from uranium enrichment.
Copyright (c) 2005, RFE/RL Inc.
Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW,
Washington DC 20036 |
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