Special Report: Iran Nuclear
Crisis
BERLIN, April 17 (Xinhua) -- UN
nuclear watchdog chief Mohammed ElBaradei on Thursday called here for more
dialogue between the international community and Iran on the country's nuclear
issue.
ElBaradei, general secretary of International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), made the call after a meeting with German Foreign Minister
Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin on Thursday.
ElBaradei said Iran's progress in developing uranium
enrichment is slow and recent additions to its nuclear fuel production complex
have only been older-model centrifuges.
The UN nuclear watchdog is well informed on the
current situation in Iran, he said.
He noted that Tehran's enrichment program was based
on the first-generation centrifuges of the P1 type, although research was
underway into developing more sophisticated centrifuges.
"I think they had 3,000 centrifuges in the past and
now they have 3,300 or 3,400 so they are not moving very fast," ElBaradei said
to a briefing after the meeting.
"I continue to call on Iran not to speed the process
because we first need to have an agreement before Iran moves forward with its
enrichment program," he added.
Speaking to the press, Steinmeier said work was
underway on a new dialogue proposal but it was not certain whether Tehran would
accept an offer.
China says six-nation talks on Iran's
nuclear issue reaches "important consenses"
SHANGHAI, April 16 (Xinhua) -- A press release from the Chinese
Foreign Ministry said here Wednesday that the six-nation talks on Iran's nuclear
issue had reached an "important consensus" to formulate a plan to restart
negotiations on Iran's nuclear issue.
The press release said that the attendant parties had
profound and constructive discussions on the next steps, however, it did not
offer any further information about what the consensus was. Full story
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Officials from China, United States,
Russia, Britain, France, Germany and the Council of European Union gather
in Shanghai to discuss a plan to restart negotiations on Iran's nuclear
issue April 16. (Xinhua Photo)
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Key meeting on Iran's nuke issue overshadowed by Tehran's
defiance
BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Officials from the United
States, Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany convene Wednesday in
Shanghai, China, to discuss a plan to restart talks on Iran's nuclear issue, but
Tehran's latest defiant moves indicate their job would not be easy.
On Monday, just two days before the key meeting, Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said other nations can gain access to Iran's
nuclear technology within the framework of International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) regulations. Full story
U.S. skeptical about Iran's claim on
nuclear development
WASHINGTON, April 8 (Xinhua) -- The United States
criticized Iran on Tuesday for its continued violation of UN resolution on
disputed nuclear program while expressing its doubt about Iran's claim that it
had started work to install 6,000 new centrifuges to enrich uranium.
"I can't substantiate the claims. There are always
multiple claims coming out of Iran about progress on this, progress on that. I
don't think the underlying situation has changed," Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice told reporters. Full story
Ahmadinejad: Iran starts to install
6,000 nuclear centrifuges
TEHRAN, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad announced on Tuesday that the Islamic Republic had started to
install 6,000 new centrifuges at Natanz nuclear plant, state media reported.
The president made the remarks after inspecting
various sections of Natanz nuclear site in central Isfahan province, the
official IRNA news agency reported. Full story
U.S.: six nations to renew talks on
Iran's nuclear issue
WASHINGTON, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Officials from the United
States, Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany are due to meet later this
month in a bid to renew their efforts to make Iran halt its sensitive nuclear
work, the State Department said on Monday.
"I can only narrow it down to mid-April. We're going
to wait, we're going to let our hosts announce the meeting," State Department
spokesman Sean McCormack said. Full story
