Bush backs Iran's right to nuclear power

UNITED NATIONS, Wednesday (Reuters) President George W. Bush endorsed Iran's right to civilian nuclear energy as efforts to deny Tehran atomic weapons gathered pace ahead of a key U.N. speech by Iran's new president and a meeting next week of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency.

The intense Iran-focused diplomacy by the United States and Europe is a subtext of this week's United Nations summit. Diplomats say Wednesday's scheduled speech by Iran's new president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his first on the international stage since his election in June, could have a significant impact on how those efforts unfold.

"Some of us are wondering why they need civilian nuclear power anyway. They're awash with hydrocarbons," Bush told a news conference in Washington before flying to New York for the summit. "Nevertheless, it's a right of a government to want to have a civilian nuclear program," he said.

Bush said this right could be supported only if Iran and other governments did not gain expertise or materials to build an atomic weapon, including the ability to enrich uranium.

"This is a subject of grave concern, and it's something that we're spending a lot of time on in this administration," Bush said

For more than two years, the U.S. administration has accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons under the guise of a peaceful nuclear energy program and sought to refer the case to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.

Tehran insists its nuclear ambitions are peaceful and says it has every right to pursue atomic power as an energy source.

The administration explicitly accepted in August that Iran can develop civilian nuclear power when it endorsed a proposal by three key European Union nations - Britain, France and Germany - to allow Tehran to do so if it gives up fuel work. That reflected a gradual shift in U.S. policy because Washington believes the EU offer has enough safeguards to prevent Tehran from diverting its civilian work into making nuclear bombs.

But Bush's comments elevate the U.S. commitment before the issue comes to a head at a Sept. 19 meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors.

Many developing countries are persuaded by Iran's argument that the United States and other nuclear states should not be permitted to deny them access to civilian nuclear energy, U.S. officials say.