 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Britain offers Iran 'clear choice' on nuclear power
London (AFP) March 17, 2009 British Prime Minister Gordon Brown appealed Tuesday for Iran to end its uranium enrichment programme in return for international assistance in developing nuclear power. Brown said the Islamic republic had a "clear choice" between cooperating with the international community or facing tougher sanctions over its enrichment activities. A spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry, however, described Brown's comments as "very contradictory" and insisted Iran's nuclear programme was peaceful. He told an international conference in London that Iran represents a crucial test for the world as it faces the prospects of a huge expansion in nuclear power generation in response to climate change. "Iran is a test case for this new philosophy of the right to civil nuclear power with sanctions for rule breakers," Brown said, adding it had "the same absolute right to a peaceful civil nuclear programme as any other country. "Indeed the UK and the international community stand ready to help Iran achieve it. "But let me be equally clear that Iran's current nuclear programme is unacceptable. Iran has concealed nuclear activities, refused to cooperate with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), and flouted UN Security Council resolutions." The United States and the European Union fear Iran is covertly trying to develop nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran rejects. Brown said: "Iran therefore faces a clear choice -- continue in this way and face further and tougher sanctions, or change to a UN-overseen civil nuclear energy programme that will bring the greatest benefits to its citizens. "I hope that Iran will make the right choice." Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi, though, was quoted by state news agency IRNA as saying: "The British prime minister's comments are very contradictory." "All Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful and supervised by the IAEA. It is completely unfounded to say Iran is a proliferation threat." Brown told the audience of scientists and diplomats that "like it or not" the world will increasingly have to switch to nuclear power to generate electricity if targets on slashing carbon emissions are to be met. He said that if Iran dropped its defiant stance and agreed to cooperate with the international community it could be part of a number of states who could benefit from assistance in developing their civil nuclear power sectors. "We have to create a new international system to help non-nuclear states acquire the new sources of energy they need. "Because -- whether we like it or not -- we will not meet the challenges of climate change without the far wider use of civil nuclear power." Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Presidential hopeful Mousavi lauds Iran's scientific gains
Tehran (AFP) March 14, 2009Former Iranian premier Mir Hossein Mousavi, who is planning to run for the presidency, said on Saturday that gains in nuclear and space sciences were the result of the 1979 Islamic revolution. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook