Iranian Cleric: Iran to Supply Own Nuclear Reactor Fuel if IAEA Refuses
VOA News 28 November 2009
A senior Iranian cleric says Iran will produce its own enriched uranium for a research reactor in Tehran if the U.N. nuclear agency refuses to supply the fuel.
Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said Saturday Iran believes it has a right to fuel the reactor with or without the help of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The cleric also strongly criticized the IAEA for passing a resolution Friday censuring Iran for defying international demands to freeze uranium enrichment. He said the IAEA had discredited itself by issuing a resolution he described as "political rather than technical."
Khatami was speaking at a Tehran University prayer service to mark the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.
Western nations suspect Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian energy program - a charge Tehran rejects.
The IAEA resolution also criticized Iran for secretly building a uranium enrichment plant and demanded that it stop the project immediately and disclose any other hidden nuclear activities.
The resolution won approval from 25 of IAEA's 35 governing board members, including China and Russia - two nations previously reluctant to admonish Iran's nuclear activities. Iran's foreign ministry dismissed the measure as a "useless" attempt to put pressure on Tehran.
Iran's envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh said the measure jeopardizes the cooperative environment needed for productive talks on Iran's nuclear program.
Soltanieh said Iran will continue to allow basic inspections of its nuclear sites, but will not go beyond its legal obligations under its agreement with the IAEA.
The resolution marks the first IAEA action against Iran since 2006. Venezuela, Cuba and Malaysia were the only IAEA board members to vote against it. Six members abstained, and one was absent.
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