Iran issues threat over nuclear sanctions

Iran today insisted the resumption of its uranium enrichment programme is not on its agenda – but warned that it may change its mind if the International Atomic Energy Agency refers Iran to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.

“Enrichment is not on the agenda for the time being but if the IAEA meeting on Monday leads to radical results, we will make our decision to correspond to that,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi.

“In a radical atmosphere, there is the possibility of any decision (by Iran),” he added, without elaborating.

The Vienna-based IAEA is scheduled to take up the Iran issue tomorrow in a meeting. The US is seeking support from board members to refer Iran to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.

Asefi said Iran expects the UN nuclear watchdog to refrain from taking unilateral and radical action.

“The agency should not demand anything more than the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) has demanded from us,” he said.

The US accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its programme is intended only to produce electricity and insists it won’t accept any limits on its right to develop a peaceful nuclear energy programme.

In a speech on Saturday to the UN General Assembly, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad proclaimed his country’s ”inalienable right” to produce nuclear energy, rejecting a European offer of economic incentives if Iran halted its uranium enrichment programme.

He denied Iran had any intention of producing nuclear weapons, offering foreign countries and companies a role in his country’s nuclear energy production.

Asefi complained that American and European response to Ahmadinejad’s offer was cool.

“Participation of foreign companies in enrichment activity of Iran is an objective guarantee. Reactions were not positive to it,” Asefi said at his weekly news conference in Tehran. “Such reactions are not helpful.”

A senior US State Department official called it “a very aggressive speech” that appeared to go beyond European ”red lines.”

Iran resumed uranium-reprocessing activities at its Uranium Conversion Facility in Isfahan in central Iran last month. The facility converts uranium concentrate ore, known as yellowcake, into uranium hexaflouride gas, the feedstock for enrichment.

In the next stage, Iran could feed the gas into centrifuges used to enrich uranium at its uranium enrichment plant in Natanz, also in central Iran. Iran suspended uranium enrichment in 2003 under a deal with Europeans, but insists it will never again suspend uranium conversion in Isfahan.

Uranium enriched to low level is used to produce nuclear fuel used to generate electricity, but further enrichment makes it suitable for use in nuclear weapons.