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TEHRAN, Feb. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi said on Wednesday that Tehran was determined to continue uranium enrichment, the official IRNA news agency reported.
"Other countries can not stop Iran's uranium enrichment program,"
Kharazi was quoted as saying after a cabinet meeting.
On nuclear negotiations with the European trio of Britain, Germany
and France, Kharazi said the talks were going on in order to remove the European
Union (EU)'s concern over Iran's nuclear activities.
However, Kharazi said Iran would evaluate the negotiations in
mid-March, and the talks would go on if the result of the evaluation was
positive.
The foreign minister reiterated the Islamic Republic had no intention
to produce nuclear weapons.
Kharazi criticized Washington as well, saying all its plans in the
Middle East, particularly in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, were aimed at helping
Israel's survival.
"Washington is trying to make up for its mistakes in Iraq and in the
region. Now, even EU members do not provide the US policies with all-out
support," Kharazi said.
Iran suspended its uranium enrichment activities last November,
paving the way for negotiations on incentives proposed by the EU to encourage
Tehran to carry out the suspension.
However, the two sides failed to reach agreements on key issues such
as Iran's building of a nuclear reactor in the following talks.
Iran has also rejected the key EU proposal that it abandons the plan
to build a heavy-water reactor in exchange for a light-water research reactor
provided by Europe.
Washington, accusing Iran of developing nuclear weapons secretly, has
threatened to launch preemptive attacks on Iran. Enditem
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