Iran will neither limit nor halt enrichment: Asefi
Iran enriches uranium from 3.5 to 5 percent only to produce nuclear energy, and the Islamic Republic will never relinquish its inalienable rights, he told reporters at his weekly press briefing.
He also lauded the stances of Russia and China toward Iran’s nuclear rights.
Commenting on Russian Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov’s recent visit to Iran, he said that the Russian government also believes that Iran’s nuclear dossier should be pursued within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
As for the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council’s alleged intervention in the process of settling the dispute over Iran’s nuclear dossier, Asefi stated that Iran has always had friendly relations with the PGCC, and Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa has explicitly announced support for Iran’s nuclear stances, but they are not going to interfere in the case.
Asefi also rejected the recent remarks of IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei about the possible termination of uranium enrichment activities in Iran, saying that Iran will not accept anything beyond its commitments and calls on the European Union to make the correct decision with regard to the present realities.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Asefi condemned the recent bombardment of Lebanon by the Zionist regime, saying that the Israeli fighter jet attack was conducted on the anniversary of the victory of the Lebanese Hezbollah and the withdrawal of Zionist forces from the region.
Iran has always called on international organizations as well as the UN secretary general and Security Council to prevent such crimes by the Zionist regime, he noted.
Asefi explained that Iran was selected to host the next conference of representatives of Iraq and neighboring countries at the group’s conference in Istanbul, but no date has been set.
He went on to say that Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki delivered a list of detained Iranian nationals to Iraqi officials during his recent trip to Iraq and that Baghdad promised to release them but warned that Iranians should refrain from illegally entering Iraqi territory.
He also said that President Mahmud Ahmadinejad is scheduled to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) conference in order to strengthen cooperation and convergence with regional countries.
Asefi noted that Iran has no academic cooperation with a university in Bahrain which uses the term ‘Arab Gulf’ in its name, adding that the selection of a distorted name for that university will eventually discredit it.
On the recent Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Malaysia, he said that Iran and other NAM member states are determined to strengthen the organization and elevate its international status in order to prevent unilateralism by the major powers.