Tehran wants to punish West over sanctions
Thursday, 17 June 2010
TEHRAN, June 16 (AP): Iran's president said Wednesday he will soon announce new conditions for talks with the West. But first, he wants to punish world powers for imposing sanctions on Tehran and force them to "sit at the negotiating table like a polite child and talk to the Iranian nation."
The United Nations Security Council approved a new round of sanctions against Iran last week for its refusal to curb the country's nuclear programme, which the US and its allies suspect is aimed at producing weapons. Iran denies that.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran favors a dialogue with the West, but will announce its conditions soon. He said the carrot-and-stick approach doesn't work and Iran will not make "one iota of concessions" to the West.
The UN sanctions were imposed because of Iran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can be used in both the production of nuclear fuel for power plants or nuclear weapons. The punishments target the country's powerful Revolutionary Guard, its ballistic missile program and nuclear-related investments.
Meanwhile, AFP from Tehran adds: Iran plans to construct a new nuclear reactor for radio-isotope production that is "more powerful" than its Tehran research facility, atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi said Wednesday.
Salehi said Tehran will be also ready with its first batch of fuel pellets for the existing Tehran research centre by September 2011.
The atomic chief added Tehran will adopt a "dual-track" policy in dealing with the world powers which imposed new sanctions on Tehran even as they offered to talk with the Islamic republic over its nuclear programme.
The United Nations Security Council approved a new round of sanctions against Iran last week for its refusal to curb the country's nuclear programme, which the US and its allies suspect is aimed at producing weapons. Iran denies that.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran favors a dialogue with the West, but will announce its conditions soon. He said the carrot-and-stick approach doesn't work and Iran will not make "one iota of concessions" to the West.
The UN sanctions were imposed because of Iran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can be used in both the production of nuclear fuel for power plants or nuclear weapons. The punishments target the country's powerful Revolutionary Guard, its ballistic missile program and nuclear-related investments.
Meanwhile, AFP from Tehran adds: Iran plans to construct a new nuclear reactor for radio-isotope production that is "more powerful" than its Tehran research facility, atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi said Wednesday.
Salehi said Tehran will be also ready with its first batch of fuel pellets for the existing Tehran research centre by September 2011.
The atomic chief added Tehran will adopt a "dual-track" policy in dealing with the world powers which imposed new sanctions on Tehran even as they offered to talk with the Islamic republic over its nuclear programme.