Ahmadinejad reiterates Iran's nuclear issue "closed"

TEHRAN, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated on Saturday that his country's nuclear issue is already "closed", the official IRNA news agency reported.

"Sooner, the fact that we said the nuclear issue has been closed from our point of view will become clear to all," Ahmadinejad told reporters on the sidelines of the 44th meeting of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU).

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated on Saturday that his country's nuclear issue is already "closed", the official IRNA news agency reported.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks at the opening ceremony of the 44th General Assembly of the Asian-Pacific Broadcasting Union in Tehran November 3, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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Asked about the latest status of Iran's nuclear case, Ahmadinejad said, "The legal discussion we had with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is back to normal and is following its due natural course."

"The political process that started under futile pretexts in connection with Iran's nuclear case has now ended in our opinion and it has no basis and foundation," he said.

Ahmadinejad has said on many occasions that the issue over Tehran's nuclear program has been "closed", a claim that is disputed by the United States and some other Western countries.

Addressing UN General Assembly on Sept. 25, Ahmadinejad said "In our opinion, the nuclear issue of Iran is now closed and has turned into an ordinary agency matter."

The UN Security Council has adopted two resolutions -- one in December 2006 and the other in March this year -- to force Iran to suspend uranium enrichment activities and to give up its nuclear program.

The United States and other Western nations have constantly accused Tehran of developing a nuclear weapon program under the guise of a civilian-use program, which was repeatedly denied by Iran.

Iran has insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and voiced hope for talks to defuse the nuclear standoff.

Vaeedi: Iran not to suspend uranium enrichment

A senior Iranian official said on Thursday that delegates from both Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were satisfied with the results of their new round of talks on Tehran's nuclear program, state broadcasting reported.

Deputy head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Javad Vaeedi(C) meets with Olli Heinonen, deputy director general of the IAEA in Tehran, 29 October 2007. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)
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TEHRAN, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Deputy head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Javad Vaeedi said on Saturday that Tehran would not accept any proposal that demands a halt of its uranium enrichment, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Vaeedi made the comments after Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said Thursday that Gulf states are willing to set up a consortium to provide enriched uranium for all users in the Middle East.