January
12, 2008 Ahmadinejad
Urges IAEA Not to be Swayed by World Powers
Tehran
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the United Nations
nuclear watchdog to fulfill its responsibility and not be influenced
by world powers in the nuclear dispute, IRNA news agency reported.
"The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should not be
influenced by pressures of world powers and fulfill its
responsibilities fairly and based on legal criteria," Ahmadinejad
told visiting IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei in Tehran.
"We only acknowledge the IAEA as reference in the nuclear issue but
this does not hinder negotiations with other countries," he added.
While referring to the US, Ahmadinejad said: "some countries
consider the IAEA as a venue to realize their policies".
He termed nuclear energy as a "divine gift" whose necessity would
increase in the next three decades and called on the IAEA to prepare
legal grounds for world states to avail themselves of such a "clean
energy source".
"The standpoint by world powers that nuclear energy is equal to an
atomic bomb should be eradicated," he said.
Earlier Saturday Iran told ElBaradei that the country would remain
committed to international regulations within the framework of the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) but not stop its nuclear
work.
State television network IRIB quoted Iran's chief nuclear negotiator
Saeed Jalili as saying that the authority of the IAEA should not be
undermined by allowing the Iranian nuclear dossier to be politicized
through baseless accusations.
Jalili's remarks indicate that Tehran has once again rejected the
main demand by world powers - and the United Nations Security
Council - which is suspension of uranium enrichment.
ElBaradei has been in Tehran since Friday to push Iran to clarify
all outstanding issues related to the country's controversial
nuclear programmes.
ElBaradei is also to meet later Saturday Iran's Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to exchange thoughts on what Iran's Atomic
Energy Organization head Gholam-Reza Aqazadeh termed "very important
issues" which could settle the nuclear dispute.
Khamenei constitutionally has the final say on all political
affairs, especially the nuclear issue.
Aqazadeh had termed his Friday talks with the IAEA head as positive
and declared Iran's readiness to fully cooperate with the UN nuclear
watchdog.
ElBaradei termed the talks with Aqazadeh as friendly and frank but
called on Iran to intensify and accelerate its cooperation with the
IAEA before the agency's board of governors meeting in March.
Observers in Tehran say that Iran might declare its readiness to
resume implementation of the IAEA Additional Protocol - allowing
IAEA snap inspections - if no third UN resolution was issued against
the Islamic state and the dossier returned to the IAEA from the
Security Council.
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