Iran Rejects Russia’s Call to Stop Uranium Enrichment Work

MosNews
Apr. 12, 2006

Iran has rejected Russia’s call to end its uranium enrichment work. A senior Iranian official said the country’s nuclear program could not be stopped.

“Iran’s nuclear activities are like a waterfall which has begun to flow. It cannot be stopped,” the official was quoted by Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Iran said on Tuesday it had produced low-grade enriched uranium suitable for use in nuclear power stations, setting itself on a collision course with the West and the UN Security Council, which have called for a halt to its work on uranium. Russia described Tuesday’s announcement as “a step in the wrong direction” but Iran held firm.

A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted by the ITAR-TASS news agency on Wednesday as saying Tehran should halt uranium enrichment. Iran has been referred to the UN Security Council for failing to convince much of the international community that it is only enriching uranium for power stations and not branching out into weapons.

Deputy head of Russian Foreign Ministry’s information department, Andrei Krivtsov, quoted by Interfax news agency, said Iran’s work on uranium enrichment was a “step in the wrong direction. It is contrary to the resolutions of the International Atomic Energy Agency board of directors and the statement by the chairman of the UN Security Council.”