Iran Rejects Russian Uranium Enrichment Plan
Iran is giving new ammunition to the neo-cons whose agenda includes war with Iran:
Iran said Sunday it has rejected a Russian proposal to enrich uranium on its behalf, closing the door on an option that offered a possible diplomatic solution to international concerns over Tehran's nuclear program.
"The Russian proposal is not on our agenda any more," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters on the sidelines of a Tehran conference on energy and security Sunday...
A prominent Russian lawmaker said Iran is hurting its case before the Security Council, which is due to receive a report from IAEA director Mohammad ElBaradei. The decision "destroys the last and real possibility of a compromise," said Konstantin Kosachyov, who chairs the international affairs committee of the Duma.
"By all accounts, Tehran's decision will seriously radicalize the upcoming debates over the IAEA report in the U.N. Security Council, since trust in Tehran's plans and ambitions has been strongly undermined," Kosachyov said, according to the Interfax news agency. Russia's foreign ministry said it would respond after receiving formal word from Iran of its rejection...
Iran says it is willing to delay large-scale enrichment, it insists on being allowed to proceed with nuclear research that includes enrichment on a small scale. That demand, which Iran calls its right under the non-proliferation treaty, is framed as a point of national pride, making the Russian proposal a long shot all along.
Kosachyov said it was "increasingly clear that Tehran has never seen the Russian proposal as a replacement for a national uranium enrichment program and only considered it as an addition to it."
Iran said Sunday it has rejected a Russian proposal to enrich uranium on its behalf, closing the door on an option that offered a possible diplomatic solution to international concerns over Tehran's nuclear program.
"The Russian proposal is not on our agenda any more," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters on the sidelines of a Tehran conference on energy and security Sunday...
A prominent Russian lawmaker said Iran is hurting its case before the Security Council, which is due to receive a report from IAEA director Mohammad ElBaradei. The decision "destroys the last and real possibility of a compromise," said Konstantin Kosachyov, who chairs the international affairs committee of the Duma.
"By all accounts, Tehran's decision will seriously radicalize the upcoming debates over the IAEA report in the U.N. Security Council, since trust in Tehran's plans and ambitions has been strongly undermined," Kosachyov said, according to the Interfax news agency. Russia's foreign ministry said it would respond after receiving formal word from Iran of its rejection...
Iran says it is willing to delay large-scale enrichment, it insists on being allowed to proceed with nuclear research that includes enrichment on a small scale. That demand, which Iran calls its right under the non-proliferation treaty, is framed as a point of national pride, making the Russian proposal a long shot all along.
Kosachyov said it was "increasingly clear that Tehran has never seen the Russian proposal as a replacement for a national uranium enrichment program and only considered it as an addition to it."
I can confidentially predict that pontification about this development will be worked into the oratory that President Bush inflicts upon the public during his Iraq war pep rally tour this week.
posted by Effwit at 11:09 AM
2 Comments:
Almost makes one wonder if the script already has been written for this drama. And the script writers don't seem to be only in Washington. Almost seems like Iran's leadership is in on the act. They seem to be playing right into the neo-con vortex. Could this be just a bizarre coincidence?
Perhaps I've just been reading too many conspiracy theories.
DrewL:
The way I see it, the West has pushed Iran into a corner. Any move that they make (except capitulation) plays into the scenario of conflict that is being trumpeted by the neo-cons.
Iran has the right under international law to pursue a nuclear power program. But the U.S. will allow them to do this only under the most humiliating conditions, like forcing them to have their uranium processed somewhere else.
No self respecting nation would accept these constraints.
The events are playing out almost like clockwork.
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