peaceful nature of the country's nuclear program, Russia's security chief Nikolai Patrushev said on Tuesday.
Tehran insists its nuclear program is for civilian power generation.
"Iran declares that it is not seeking nuclear weapons and is developing peaceful nuclear technologies. But its actions, including the recent announcement that it started to further enrich uranium to 20%, raise concerns among other states, and these doubts are reasonable," the secretary of Russia's Security Council said.
A long-standing dispute over Iran's nuclear activities, which Western powers fear are aimed at building weapons, might result in a military conflict, Patrushev said during a press conference at RIA Novosti in Moscow.
"Theoretically, there is [a possibility of war], and a number of states do not rule out military actions," he said.
Patrushev's remarks were the first reaction from Moscow to Iran's announcement it was starting on Tuesday production of 20%-enriched uranium at the Natanz nuclear facility.
Production of 20% enriched uranium started at 13:00 local time [09:30 GMT] in the presence of the head of the Iranian nuclear agency, Ali Akbar Salehi, and officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Low-grade uranium has been loaded into centrifuges and will be processed through a number of cascades to become 20% enriched nuclear fuel.
The Russian security official also said that Iran had failed to provide Russia with full information on its uranium enrichment plans. Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, "just did not come" to a meeting with Patrushev, which was scheduled to take place shortly before the announcement.
Iran's move to enrich uranium could spur the UN Security Council to agree on a fourth set of sanctions over the country's nuclear activities.
Patrushev reiterated that Russia, which along with China earlier opposed to further sanctions against the Islamic Republic, might soften its stance if tensions continue to grow. However, he said, Russia was still in favor of a diplomatic approach.
"Everything has its limits, including patience. We are still interested in dialogue, in receiving an explanation of what is going on, but it is not always taking place," he said.
Though an agreement on the IAEA-proposed plan seemed to be reached last week, Iran notified the UN nuclear watchdog of plans to produce higher enriched uranium on Monday, saying it could not wait any longer.
Under a plan drawn up by the UN nuclear watchdog last October, the Islamic Republic was to ship out its low-enriched uranium to Russia for further enrichment and subsequently send it to France where it would be made into fuel rods.
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Tuesday, February 09, 2010
DTN News: Iran Enrichment Plans Cast Doubt On Nuclear Program - Russia
DTN News: Iran Enrichment Plans Cast Doubt On Nuclear Program - Russia
*Source: DTN News / RIA Novosti
(NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW, Russia - February 10, 2010: Iran's announcement that it is starting production of 20%-enriched uranium creates doubts about the
peaceful nature of the country's nuclear program, Russia's security chief Nikolai Patrushev said on Tuesday.
Tehran insists its nuclear program is for civilian power generation.
"Iran declares that it is not seeking nuclear weapons and is developing peaceful nuclear technologies. But its actions, including the recent announcement that it started to further enrich uranium to 20%, raise concerns among other states, and these doubts are reasonable," the secretary of Russia's Security Council said.
A long-standing dispute over Iran's nuclear activities, which Western powers fear are aimed at building weapons, might result in a military conflict, Patrushev said during a press conference at RIA Novosti in Moscow.
"Theoretically, there is [a possibility of war], and a number of states do not rule out military actions," he said.
Patrushev's remarks were the first reaction from Moscow to Iran's announcement it was starting on Tuesday production of 20%-enriched uranium at the Natanz nuclear facility.
Production of 20% enriched uranium started at 13:00 local time [09:30 GMT] in the presence of the head of the Iranian nuclear agency, Ali Akbar Salehi, and officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Low-grade uranium has been loaded into centrifuges and will be processed through a number of cascades to become 20% enriched nuclear fuel.
The Russian security official also said that Iran had failed to provide Russia with full information on its uranium enrichment plans. Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, "just did not come" to a meeting with Patrushev, which was scheduled to take place shortly before the announcement.
Iran's move to enrich uranium could spur the UN Security Council to agree on a fourth set of sanctions over the country's nuclear activities.
Patrushev reiterated that Russia, which along with China earlier opposed to further sanctions against the Islamic Republic, might soften its stance if tensions continue to grow. However, he said, Russia was still in favor of a diplomatic approach.
"Everything has its limits, including patience. We are still interested in dialogue, in receiving an explanation of what is going on, but it is not always taking place," he said.
Though an agreement on the IAEA-proposed plan seemed to be reached last week, Iran notified the UN nuclear watchdog of plans to produce higher enriched uranium on Monday, saying it could not wait any longer.
Under a plan drawn up by the UN nuclear watchdog last October, the Islamic Republic was to ship out its low-enriched uranium to Russia for further enrichment and subsequently send it to France where it would be made into fuel rods.
Related Articles
Iran starts production of 20%-enriched uranium
Iran says starting production of higher-grade nuclear fuel
Iran begins production of high-grade nuclear fuel - Reuters
Iran notifies UN watchdog of higher uranium enrichment plans
peaceful nature of the country's nuclear program, Russia's security chief Nikolai Patrushev said on Tuesday.
Tehran insists its nuclear program is for civilian power generation.
"Iran declares that it is not seeking nuclear weapons and is developing peaceful nuclear technologies. But its actions, including the recent announcement that it started to further enrich uranium to 20%, raise concerns among other states, and these doubts are reasonable," the secretary of Russia's Security Council said.
A long-standing dispute over Iran's nuclear activities, which Western powers fear are aimed at building weapons, might result in a military conflict, Patrushev said during a press conference at RIA Novosti in Moscow.
"Theoretically, there is [a possibility of war], and a number of states do not rule out military actions," he said.
Patrushev's remarks were the first reaction from Moscow to Iran's announcement it was starting on Tuesday production of 20%-enriched uranium at the Natanz nuclear facility.
Production of 20% enriched uranium started at 13:00 local time [09:30 GMT] in the presence of the head of the Iranian nuclear agency, Ali Akbar Salehi, and officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Low-grade uranium has been loaded into centrifuges and will be processed through a number of cascades to become 20% enriched nuclear fuel.
The Russian security official also said that Iran had failed to provide Russia with full information on its uranium enrichment plans. Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, "just did not come" to a meeting with Patrushev, which was scheduled to take place shortly before the announcement.
Iran's move to enrich uranium could spur the UN Security Council to agree on a fourth set of sanctions over the country's nuclear activities.
Patrushev reiterated that Russia, which along with China earlier opposed to further sanctions against the Islamic Republic, might soften its stance if tensions continue to grow. However, he said, Russia was still in favor of a diplomatic approach.
"Everything has its limits, including patience. We are still interested in dialogue, in receiving an explanation of what is going on, but it is not always taking place," he said.
Though an agreement on the IAEA-proposed plan seemed to be reached last week, Iran notified the UN nuclear watchdog of plans to produce higher enriched uranium on Monday, saying it could not wait any longer.
Under a plan drawn up by the UN nuclear watchdog last October, the Islamic Republic was to ship out its low-enriched uranium to Russia for further enrichment and subsequently send it to France where it would be made into fuel rods.
Related Articles
Iran starts production of 20%-enriched uranium
Iran says starting production of higher-grade nuclear fuel
Iran begins production of high-grade nuclear fuel - Reuters
Iran notifies UN watchdog of higher uranium enrichment plans
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