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Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman
Mohammad-Ali Hosseini addresses a speech in Tehran on Sunday.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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TEHRAN,
Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Sunday reiterated its opposition to a West demand for
suspending its uranium enrichment activities, saying such a move is "absolutely
unacceptable".
"The suspension (of uranium enrichment) is absolutely
unacceptable and we have rejected it," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali
Hosseini told a press conference.
Hosseini's remarks came after foreign ministers or
representatives from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, China and
Russia gathered in London on Friday for talks on Iran's nuclear standoff.
After the meeting, British Foreign Secretary Margaret
Beckett issued a statement, saying that participants were "deeply disappointed"
that Iran was not prepared to suspend its enrichment-related and reprocessing
activities, as required by the IAEA Boardand made mandatory in the UN Security
Council Resolution 1696.
Hosseini said that the West demand "has no place in
Iran's peaceful nuclear program", adding "the threat of sanctions is an
inefficient means to achieve a solution."
Iranians "have always regarded the weapon of
sanctions as something rotten and outdated," he said, adding that the Iranian
people "have already been used to such sanctions and threats".
Hosseini stressed that Iran would not be the lone
victim to the possible sanctions, as the sanction-seeking countries themselves
would also be affected by such measures.
Iran "prefers talks in the framework of international
regulations without any precondition" when it comes to ways to solve the nuclear
standoff and does not want the ones that would lead to sanctions, Hosseini said.
Enrichment of uranium is at the core of the dispute
over Iran's nuclear program. The process can be used to make nuclear fuel and,
in highly enriched form, the explosive core of an atomic bomb.
Tehran insists its nuclear program is solely for
peaceful energy needs. The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in late
July, urging Tehran to suspend, by Aug. 31, all enrichment-related and
reprocessing activities, including research and development. Enditem
