Special report: Iran Nuclear
Crisis
Iran replies to six-nation
proposal
Iran launches military
exercise
TEHRAN, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Iran reiterated on
Sunday its rejection to a UN demand for it to halt uranium enrichment, saying
the question of suspension is something "in the past".
"Suspension is something that is in the past. We will
not take a step back," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi told a weekly
news conference.
While Tehran is ready to hear the points of view of
the European countries over its nuclear issue, Iran "rejected any talks with
preconditions," Asefi added.
The Iranian official said Iran still prefers solving
its nuclear issue through negotiations.
"There are two options. First is negotiations and
second is the United Nations Security Council. We, of course, prefer the first
option," the official IRNA news agency quoted Asefi as saying.
The second option "will have negative consequences
for Europe," he said. "Even China and Russia have emphasized that the first
option should be taken."
Asefi, in his last press conference as the Foreign
Ministry spokesman, also urged European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana
to make good use of the chance of talks with Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali
Larijani.
Following more than three hours of negotiation in
Vienna on Saturday, Larijani told reporters that the talks focused on the
incentive package offered by Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the
United States as well as Iran's response.
The talks were "constructive" and achieved "progress"
in some aspects, Larijani said, adding that his negotiation with Solana would
continue on Sunday.
Solana's spokesperson Christina Gallach said Solana
also found the talks with Larijani "constructive and positive".
On Aug. 22, Iran officially responded to the
six-nation incentive package, saying it would like to negotiate on its nuclear
issue.
But analysts believed that Iran's response was not
"comprehensive" and some "ambiguous" explanations needed to be clarified during
the talks between Solana and Larijani.
The flurry of diplomacy followed Tehran's rejection
of UN Security Council Resolution 1696, which calls on Iran to suspend uranium
enrichment activities by Aug. 31.
At an informal meeting in Brussels last week, EU
foreign ministers decided to maintain serious talks with Tehran in efforts to
solve Iran's nuclear issue through diplomacy. Enditem
