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Written by IR Diplomacy
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Saturday, 20 February 2010 15:24 |
 Tehran seems to be waiting for new offers from West. But Western powers
are standing firm on the October 2009 proposal. Aren’t the chances of an
agreement minimized?
There is no vague point about the nuclear fuel Tehran’s research reactor needs.
The facility was constructed by Americans before the revolution and US itself
supplied its fuel. We bought the material once after the revolution from
Argentina. The reactor is used for humanitarian medical purposes. Eight-hundred
fifty-thousand patients need the products of this reactor. Everything that
revolves around this reactor is peaceful.
As an IAEA member, Iran has certain rights. One of them is that its peaceful
nuclear demands should be met. So the IAEA has to supply the nuclear fuel for
Tehran’s reactor. This is our right. Countries which do not possess the nuclear
fuel cycle know-how should expect IAEA’s help. The agency should have paved the
way for our access to the fuel, but with the unreasonable concerns of some
powerful countries about our peaceful nuclear program, which is political driven
of course, it turned into a nuclear swap deal.
Iran has basically accepted the exchange offer to create a better situation for
interaction. But our country has its own terms and conditions since it doesn’t
fully trust the other side. We had three ways to supply the fuel we need: to
purchase it, to receive it in exchange of our low-enriched uranium or produce it
inside.
Tehran’s nuclear fuel will be consumed within a year, so we are facing time
limits. We spent several months on negotiations over the fuel and we didn’t gain
any results. If we want to spend another several months with no achievements,
how could we be accountable to those people? Unfortunately, Iran’s humanitarian
and medical demands have become pawn to politics. So we have come to the
decision that we should start 20 percent uranium enrichment inside so as not to
lose more time. At this point, we are receiving different proposals from various
countries. We will examine them all and if they serve our demands, they will
definitely be welcome. Otherwise, we continue 20 percent uranium production.
Moreover, it is not only the Tehran reactor that needs fuel. In our development
programs, we are going to construct nuclear facilities to meet our agricultural,
medical and energy needs. These are all peaceful purposes and we will achieve
them through cooperation with IAEA. These power plants naturally need fuel and
we should plan for that. The more produced inside the better it is for us in
terms of costs. The remaining should be purchased from other countries. We are
ready for purchase and exchange.
Were there any new points in the proposal sent by the United States, Russia
and France to the International Atomic Energy Organization?
That would not be clear until our experts have studied the proposal. We should
examine the letter and become sure that there are no ambiguities. It is not the
right time to say if there are any new points. I can just say that Iran welcomes
interaction, is ready to swap for nuclear fuel and is open to different
proposals as long as they meet our demands.
So Iran is now going to take a look at different offers and nuclear fuel
production will continue inside. As you said we lost some time trying to seal a
deal on nuclear fuel. Aren’t we now losing time for reaching an agreement with
West and avoiding further pressures?
We don’t welcome further resolutions or sanctions. But you can’t deprive a
country with diplomatic pressure from its inalienable rights IAEA has granted
for running the nuclear fuel cycle. The possibility of sanction and imposition
of a non-legal, unreasonable pressure will not stop us from pursuing our rights.
Iran believes that politics and propaganda are behind such pressures to force
Iran withdraw from its independent path. Nuclear activities are just a pretext
for West to impose sanctions. We faced such limitations even when our nuclear
activities were not an issue.
Meanwhile, a limited number of countries who are running this anti-Iran campaign
are trying to represent themselves as the voice of the international community.
Neither Iranians, nor other nations of the region and the world view them so.
International community is 118 members of the Non-Aligned Movement who have
defended Iran’s right to peaceful use of nuclear activities. International
community is the 57 members of Islamic Conference Organization; it is all those
African, Latin American and other countries who have defended our right.
Why are a few countries that ironically are the sole possessors of nuclear
weapons and have used them threat another country? Regardless of Article 6 of
the NPT, they have not only pursued nuclear disarmament but are planning to
increase the number of their nuclear weapons. These forces, those which are
driving the world towards nuclearization, are the self-assumed representatives
of the international community. They are just a number of unappeasable countries
that know in a few decades, fossil fuels will be all used up and nuclear fuel
will be the key replacement. They are trying to tighten their grip on this
monopoly and keep the other countries dependent.
We see countries which have defended Iran’s nuclear rights, but have voted in
favor of the resolutions. Can we tie our hope to such countries?
Zionists are running an Iranophobia campaign and are ready to pay a high price
for that. Their media are trying to divert the world’s attention from Israel’s
nuclear threat by fueling this anti-Iran frenzy. Europeans are also aiding them.
But Iranians and Middle East nations know this is just a show. I admit that some
countries defend our rights while voting against us, but that is because of all
the pressures they face. There is a certain level of resistance that if passed
they have to succumb to Western powers despite their own desire. But sanctions
and threats are not effective anymore. They cannot discourage Iran from the path
it has chosen. It just motivates our young scientists to master the latest
technology.
Arab states of the region are also expressing worries over Iran’s nuclear
activities. What should we tell them?
This is our advice: do not fall victim to the stratagems of a few countries.
Move towards regional convergence and collaboration to build a stable, developed
Middle East. Arab leaders’ comments are also poorly reflected in the media. What
Iran has understood so far from their remarks is that regional states want a
nuclear-free Middle East. This is exactly what Iran has always defended. That’s
why we are going to hold a disarmament conference in Tehran in 16th and 17th of
April in Tehran.
Source: Iran Diplomacy
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