EU offers olive branch to Iran on nuclear issue
The European Union urged Iran on Wednesday to take up an offer to suspend its nuclear enrichment in return for suspending sanctions on Tehran.
"We therefore urge Iran to take up the offer of double suspension, as endorsed recently by the director general," French ambassador Francois-Xavier Deniau said, speaking for the three EU powers mediating in the nuclear standoff.
He was referring to an offer from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei, who made the offer of simultaneity in January to make it easier for Iran to swallow a December 23 UN Security Council resolution that imposed sanctions in order to get Iran to unilaterally suspend enrichment. But Iranian ambassador to the IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh said Iran has not found "any reason" to suspend enrichment, which it claims as a right under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Uranium enrichment makes fuel for civilian nuclear reactors but also what could be atom bomb material.
Iran has refused to stop enriching uranium but says it is ready to talk without preconditions, thus rejecting both the UN resolution and any compromise.
Soltanieh said the West was deceiving the international community by saying the matter must be handled by the Security Council.
He said Iran has mastered enrichment.
"I know that Americans do not want the world to know this reality. They have to swallow this reality."
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Pertinent Links:
1) EU offers olive branch to Iran on nuclear issue
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