Special report: Iran Nuclear Crisis

Head of the IAEA Mohammed ElBaradei (L) is at a news conference with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani in Tehran, April 13, 2006.(Xinhua photo)

    TEHRAN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said on Thursday that Iran would not re-suspend uranium enrichment activities.

    Larijani told reporters after talks with UN nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei that a UN Security Council statement demanding Iran to freeze the enrichment-related activities was "not so important".

    "Every action must be reasonable and logical. We are cooperating in a constructive manner with the (International Atomic Energy) agency, and Mr ElBaradei is here and the inspectors and cameras are here, so such a proposal is not very important to solve the problem," Larijani said.

    On his part, ElBaradei termed his talks with Larijani as "constructive".

    "I can tell you on the issue of cooperation to resolve outstanding issues, Mr Larijani renewed his commitment that the Islamic Republic of Iran will accelerate its efforts to work with us in next couple of weeks to provide clarity to the issue that we need to clarify," the IAEA chief said.

    ElBaradei also said that he had called on Iran to solve outstanding issues within the remaining time and suspend its nuclear activities for a specific period of time until the submission of his report to the Security Council, the official IRNA news agency reported.

    In response, Larijani said that Iran is committed to its undertakings and will announce its stance during the remaining two weeks.

    ElBaradei arrived in Tehran early Thursday morning and his 24-hour visit came just two days after Iran announced that it had successfully enriched uranium to fuel nuclear power reactors.

    Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced on Tuesday that Iran had successfully produced 3.5 percent enriched uranium, a technological milestone in the process for nuclear power plant construction.

    The UN Security Council adopted a presidential statement on March 29, granting Iran 30 days to comply, but the requirement has been rejected by Tehran as illegal.

    Ahmadinejad vowed on Thursday that his country would not compromise on its nuclear programs. Enditem

ElBaradei says talks with Iran constructive

    TEHRAN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- UN nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradeion Thursday termed his talks with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani as "constructive", the official IRNA news agency reported.

    "I can tell you on the issue of cooperation to resolve outstanding issues, Mr Larijani renewed his commitment that the Islamic Republic of Iran will accelerate its efforts to work with us in next couple of weeks to provide clarity to the issue that we need to clarify," he said.

    "On the other issue of confidence-building measures, including suspension of enrichment, we had a good discussion. We exchanged views on different processes and modalities for Iran to come to terms with the request of the international community and to work with the international community," he said.

    "To build confidence we agreed that we will continue an intensive dialogue in the next few weeks with the aim of being able to move forward on this difficult and important issue."

    ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), arrived in Tehran early Thursday morning in a last-ditch bid to convince Iran to comply with the April 28 deadline set by the UN Security Council for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment.

    Upon his arrival, ElBaradei stressed the importance to solve the Iranian nuclear issue through political means and negotiations, urging the Islamic Republic to halt all activities related to uranium enrichment according to a non-binding presidential statement of the UN Security Council.

    His 24-hour visit came just two days after Iran announced that it had successfully enriched uranium to fuel nuclear power reactors. 

    However, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said on Thursday that Iran would not resume suspension of uranium enrichment activities.

    Larijani told reporters after talks with ElBaradei that a UN Security Council demand that Iran freeze the enrichment-related activities was "not so important."

    "Every action must be reasonable and logical. We are cooperating in a constructive manner with the (International Atomic Energy) Agency, Mr ElBaradei is here and the inspectors and cameras are here, so such a proposal is not very important to solve the problem," he said.

    Iran has insisted on its right to peaceful nuclear technology enshrined in the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

    It has also vowed never to give up its nuclear program which it says is for fully peaceful purposes but the West fears could lead to an atom bomb. Enditem