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Iran Indicates Impatience With Pace of EU Talks
A top Iranian official urged the European Union yesterday to make more progress in talks with Tehran on its nuclear program, trade and security, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Feb. 1). “We have to take the negotiations seriously and accelerate them,” said Gholamreza Aghazadeh, head of Iran’s atomic energy organization (Associated Press/USA Today, Feb. 2). European officials, however, said negotiations were moving at a reasonable pace, Reuters reported. “The issue is not pace but substance,” said Cristina Gallach, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. “We say that this is the right pace. On our side, we say the process is on track,” she added (Reuters, Feb. 1). U.S. President George W. Bush is expected to say tonight in his State of the Union address that he seeks to solve peacefully the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, a senior aide said yesterday, Agence France-Presse reported. “I’ve noticed that many people don’t pay attention to the words the president has used, in which he has demonstrated time, after time, after time that he believes that diplomacy, working with our European allies, is the most effective way,” said the official. Bush “will continue to make that clear, not only in the State of the Union,” but in future remarks, said the aide (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Feb. 1). U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that the United States “greatly appreciates” the efforts by the European powers to negotiate a solution to the standoff, AFP reported. “What we need with Iran is unity of purpose and unity of message to Iran about what is expected of Iran,” she said. “And I frankly think we are getting that.” “Iranians are being told across the board that they cannot be responsible members of the international community and seek nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian nuclear program. That is not acceptable” (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Feb. 2). Iran, meanwhile, plans to become a “player” among international suppliers of nuclear fuel, a senior Iranian official said yesterday, Reuters reported. A five-year moratorium on creation of new nuclear fuel production centers proposed by International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei would give the world’s existing suppliers a monopoly, said Sirus Naseri, a senior member of Iran’s IAEA delegation. “The five-year moratorium proposed by ElBaradei is equal to exclusivity of supply,” Naseri said (see related GSN story, today). As the second biggest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Iran wants to remain a supplier of energy to the world, Naseri added. “With diminishing exports of oil, Iran has to be a supplier. Iran is used to being a net supplier of energy rather than a sole receiver,” he said. “We are definitely going to be a player,” he added (Reuters, Feb. 1). Elsewhere, Namibian government records indicate that a mine in that country has not sold uranium to Iran, Reuters reported. The general manager of the Rossing mine claimed last week that Iran has held 15-percent ownership of the mine since 1975. “When the mine is going to export uranium it must get authorization from the ministry, signed by the minister, specifying how many tons the mine is selling,” said Namibia’s Director of Mines Asser Mudhika. “As far as Iran buying Namibian uranium, our data indicate not a single ounce of uranium bought by Iran,” Mudhika said. The ministry has tracked uranium exports and their destinations since 1990, when Namibia became independent and the current government took power, he added (Reuters, Feb. 2).
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