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| Wednesday, 24 November 2004 |
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Iran to decide duration of suspension TEHRAN, Tuesday (Iran News, Reuters) Iran on Monday effectively suspended uranium enrichment and will decide how long this suspension will last, Government Spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh said here yesterday. "Continued suspension will depend on the other side fulfilling its promises, which will be revealed in the upcoming meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors," Ramezanzadeh told domestic and foreign reporters, IRNA reported. "Iran, in a deal with the EU's Big 3, accepted suspension voluntarily but is not legally obligated to do so. It agreed to the suspension to boost public confidence at the regional and international levels. "Such confidence building not only serves our national interests but also will prevent international hostility in the world," the spokesman said. "We have always been committed to our undertakings and expect the other side to do its part," he reiterated. Oil-rich Iran denies it is trying to develop a nuclear arsenal and says it just wants to generate electricity. "Today the whole enrichment process has been suspended," Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi told CNN. U.S. President George W. Bush reacted to the announcement with mild scepticism. "Let's say, I hope it's true," he said. Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), confirmed the freeze. "I think pretty much everything has come to a halt right now. We're just trying to apply seals and make sure everything has been stopped," ElBaradei told reporters in Vienna. Operations at an Isfahan facility readying raw "yellowcake" uranium for the enrichment process had also stopped, he said. IAEA inspectors are verifying the suspension and plan to confirm it has been fully implemented at Thursday's IAEA board meeting which will discuss a draft EU resolution on the issue. Iran never fully suspended the programme after making a similar promise to France, Britain and Germany in October 2003. Iran has warned that the freeze of activities it considers a "sovereign right" would be short-lived. Kharrazi said Tehran would review the suspension in three months. "If it was positive we can continue. Positive means we are arriving at some conclusions and the ... commitments made by the other side (the EU) are going to materialise," he said. |
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