Khamenei: Iran may reconsider nuclear cooperation with EU

1/29/2005 3:45:00 PM GMT

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Tehran would reconsider its nuclear cooperation with the European Union if there is no seriousness in their negotiations.

"The Europeans negotiating with Iran should know that they are dealing with a great, cultured nation... if Iranian officials feel that there is no seriousness in the European negotiations, the process will change,” the Iranian media cited Khamenei as saying.

His statement followed recent reports that the Europeans were hardening their stance towards Iran and demanding Tehran to completely scrap its nuclear program.

In November, Tehran agreed to voluntarily freeze all activities related to uranium enrichment, in exchange for trade, technology, nuclear and security benefits promised by the European Union.

But now the EU wants the Islamic republic to definitely abandon its enrichment program as well as all activities related to the development of plutonium.

Khamenei warned the European powers that "wasting time could not impede Iran's path to nuclear technology since it is a part of its national interest."

Iran’s senior nuclear negotiator, Hasan Rowhani, was also quoted by the Mehr news agency as saying that the "Europeans know that Iran under no circumstances will give up (uranium) enrichment for peaceful purposes,"

"Europeans also know that the duration of the negotiations and suspension of the enrichment is limited, and after this round of discussions has lapsed, the Islamic Republic of Iran will seek its rightful rights," he added.

"The European Union, especially the three countries, know that Iran is firm on its decisions and I do not think the Europeans want the negotiations to reach a dead end," Rowhani said. "Both sides have to try to reach a satisfactory solution."

ElBaradei praises Iran’s cooperation

Meanwhile, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, said that he was getting "good cooperation" from Iran on its nuclear program.

"I am saying that we are getting good cooperation from Iran," ElBaradei said on Saturday.

"In the last 15 months we have made good strides in understanding the nature and the scope of its programme," he said, adding that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) doesn’t possess any evidence that Iran was working on a nuclear weapons program.

"We cannot work on the basis of beliefs, we have to work on the facts," El Baradei noted.

The United States accuses Iran of covertly developing an atomic weapons program and wants Tehran’s nuclear file to be reported to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.

Iran denies the accusations and insists that its nuclear program is strictly aimed at the peaceful generation of technology.

"As long as we have cooperation, and we do not see a smoking gun, the international community should bear with us," he insisted.

ElBaradei also urged the United States to share in the EU talks with Iran.

"It is vital that the United States will become part of that dialogue,” he said, adding that "This issue will not be resolved without face-to-face negotiations."