TEHRAN -- Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani says that the new propaganda campaign about Iran’s nuclear activities was launched by the West to help them impose their will on the Islamic Republic during the upcoming talks between Iran and the 5+1 group.

“They intend to impose something on Iran during the upcoming talks. They themselves know that their efforts are futile. Thus, they want to create an ambiguous atmosphere,” Larijani said here on Sunday.
The new round of talks between Iran and the 5+1 group (China, the United States, Russia, France, Britain, and Germany) is scheduled to begin on October 1.
Larijani pointed out that Iran’s nuclear activities are totally peaceful, adding, “Iran has taken a transparent path to attain nuclear expertise.”
He criticized the approach the United States and other Western countries have taken toward the issue over the past few years and their efforts to hinder Iran’s nuclear program.
“Even after we inaugurated the Isfahan company, they claimed that this company was dangerous, even though the product of the company is UF6, which is not dangerous,” he said.
The Westerners have repeatedly asked Iran to suspend its nuclear activities and have created a great commotion because they imagined that they could stop Iran with this commotion and break its resistance, Larijani said.
The Majlis speaker also emphasized that the Westerners really have no problem with Iran’s nuclear activities because they know that the activities are totally peaceful.
However, they are worried that if Iran attains advanced nuclear technology, that will raise its profile in the regional and international arenas, he opined.
“They know that our nuclear program is not aiming to (construct) nuclear weapons and the Supreme Leader of the Revolution (Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei) has announced time and again that Iran does not regard nuclear weapons to be legal.”
He also stated out that there is nothing unusual about the new nuclear fuel production plant that the Westerners should claim that Iran has violated the regulations. Its work is similar to what Iran does in Natanz, he noted.
In a statement issued on September 25, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Director Ali Akbar Salehi announced that the Islamic Republic is building a new nuclear fuel production plant.
In a new successful step, in line with its inalienable right to peaceful nuclear energy, the Islamic Republic of Iran has begun construction of another plant for enriching nuclear fuel, part of the statement said.
Certain countries have launched an intense propaganda campaign claiming that Iran’s move is a violation of IAEA regulations and that Iran has been secretly constructing the nuclear fuel production plant.
However, the statement noted: “The activities of the new facility, like the activities of the other Iranian nuclear facilities, are within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.”
Construction of new plant in line with NPT
Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Chairman Alaeddin Boroujerdi said that the construction of nuclear facilities in Iran is in line with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
And the new project is a completely normal issue and is in line with Iran’s NPT commitments, he told reporters on Sunday.
“Every country that is a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency is entitled to uranium enrichment. However, (it) should inform the agency six months before the injection of gas,” he stated.
Boroujerdi emphasized that Iran informed the IAEA 18 months before the injection of gas is scheduled to begin, which is much earlier than the agency’s deadline.
The brouhaha over the construction of nuclear facilities in Iran raised by the United States and certain other countries indicates that they are not familiar with IAEA regulations, the MP said.
The IAEA is the only legal body authorized to make judgments about Iran’s nuclear activities and it has a positive view about the construction of the facilities, he added.
Boroujerdi had earlier told ISNA that Iran’s decision to construct a new enrichment facility should not affect the talks between Tehran and the 5+1 group scheduled for October 1, unless the West is looking for a pretext to undermine the talks.
Iran surprised about West’s concern over new plant
The AEOI director stated on Sunday that Iran is surprised that the West is making a fuss over the announcement of the construction of Iran’s new nuclear fuel production plant.
“We are surprised, and as the president (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) has said, at the end of the day, it is not clear if we should announce or not. They are upset when we announce and are also upset when we do not announce,” Salehi told ISNA.
But it is clear that the Westerners planned to implement a plot and create turmoil on the eve of the talks, he added.
The same accusations were made about the construction of the Natanz nuclear fuel plant but later it became evident that the claims were baseless, he said.
He went on to say that the new nuclear fuel production plant is situated between Tehran and Qom and has a high security level.
Since the enrichment process is a sensitive issue, it was decided that critical tools should be transferred to a site that is difficult to attack, he said.