Iran defiant in nuclear row despite sanctions threat

IRAN: Western powers are warning Iran of more sanctions if it rejects an incentives offer and presses on with sensitive nuclear work, but the Islamic Republic is showing no sign of backing down.

On Saturday, Iran again ruled out suspending uranium enrichment despite the offer by six world powers of help in developing a civilian nuclear programme if it stopped activities the United States and others suspect are designed to make bombs.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said after talks in Tehran that Iran should cease enrichment during negotiations on the offer, a precondition it has repeatedly rejected.

“The deadlock is still there,” one Iranian political analyst who declined to be named said after Solana’s visit.

Tehran, Sunday, Reuters