UN team in Tehran for crucial nuclear talks
Source: Agencies |
February 21, 2012, Tuesday
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SENIOR United Nations inspectors arrived in Iran yesterday to push for transparency about its disputed nuclear program, a day after Tehran responded defiantly to tightened European Union sanctions by halting oil sales to British and French companies.
Iran denies Western claims that it is covertly seeking the means to build nuclear weapons and has again vowed no nuclear retreat in recent weeks, but also voiced willingness to resume negotiations with world powers without preconditions.
The five-member team from the International Atomic Energy Agency, led by its global inspectorate chief Herman Nackaerts, planned two days of meetings in another attempt to extract answers from Iran regarding Western intelligence suggesting its declared civilian nuclear program is a facade for developing bombs.
Nackaerts said on departure from Vienna, Austria, that he wanted "concrete results." His delegation was expected to seek, among other things, to question Iranian nuclear scientists and visit the Parchin military base, which the West says has been used for high-explosive tests relevant to nuclear warheads.
But Iran Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi dampened speculation about increased IAEA access when he told the student news agency ISNA that the agency officials would not be going to any nuclear sites. "No. Their work has just begun," Salehi said.
The outcome of the discussions will have diplomatic repercussions because it could either deepen a standoff that has stoked fears of war or provide scope to reduce tensions.
In a sign of Iranian concern about possible, last-resort air strikes by arch-enemies Israel or the United States, Iran yesterday began a four-day military exercise in protecting its nuclear sites.
"(It) will practise coordination between the Revolutionary Guards and regular army and air defense units in establishing a defense umbrella over our vital centers, particularly nuclear facilities," the labor news agency ILNA said.
The US and Israel have not ruled out using force against Iran if diplomacy and sanctions fail to rein it in, and there has been intense public discussion in Israel about whether it should attack Iran to stop it "weaponizing" enrichment.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said yesterday using force would be the wrong answer. "Attacking Iran militarily would only worsen the confrontation and lead to further upheaval in the region," he said in Beijing.
On Sunday, Iran's oil ministry said it had stopped selling oil to French and British companies.
Deputy Oil Minister Ahmad Qalebani suggested the Western crackdown would backfire, saying that in targeting Iranian oil the West had achieved only a surge in crude prices from US$103 a barrel to US$120, "and it will reach US$150."
Iran denies Western claims that it is covertly seeking the means to build nuclear weapons and has again vowed no nuclear retreat in recent weeks, but also voiced willingness to resume negotiations with world powers without preconditions.
The five-member team from the International Atomic Energy Agency, led by its global inspectorate chief Herman Nackaerts, planned two days of meetings in another attempt to extract answers from Iran regarding Western intelligence suggesting its declared civilian nuclear program is a facade for developing bombs.
Nackaerts said on departure from Vienna, Austria, that he wanted "concrete results." His delegation was expected to seek, among other things, to question Iranian nuclear scientists and visit the Parchin military base, which the West says has been used for high-explosive tests relevant to nuclear warheads.
But Iran Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi dampened speculation about increased IAEA access when he told the student news agency ISNA that the agency officials would not be going to any nuclear sites. "No. Their work has just begun," Salehi said.
The outcome of the discussions will have diplomatic repercussions because it could either deepen a standoff that has stoked fears of war or provide scope to reduce tensions.
In a sign of Iranian concern about possible, last-resort air strikes by arch-enemies Israel or the United States, Iran yesterday began a four-day military exercise in protecting its nuclear sites.
"(It) will practise coordination between the Revolutionary Guards and regular army and air defense units in establishing a defense umbrella over our vital centers, particularly nuclear facilities," the labor news agency ILNA said.
The US and Israel have not ruled out using force against Iran if diplomacy and sanctions fail to rein it in, and there has been intense public discussion in Israel about whether it should attack Iran to stop it "weaponizing" enrichment.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said yesterday using force would be the wrong answer. "Attacking Iran militarily would only worsen the confrontation and lead to further upheaval in the region," he said in Beijing.
On Sunday, Iran's oil ministry said it had stopped selling oil to French and British companies.
Deputy Oil Minister Ahmad Qalebani suggested the Western crackdown would backfire, saying that in targeting Iranian oil the West had achieved only a surge in crude prices from US$103 a barrel to US$120, "and it will reach US$150."
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