Tokyo: Iran was within its international
obligations when it enriched some of its uranium stockpile
earlier this month and should not be subjected to UN sanctions
over its nuclear programme, its parliament speaker said on Thursday.
Ali Larijani, speaking in Tokyo, said Iran has been
unfairly singled out for pressure and threats by the United
States over its development of nuclear technology, which he
said was peaceful and intended solely to provide a source of
energy.
"I say clearly, we will develop nuclear power for
peaceful purposes, but not seek nuclear weapons," said
Larijani, who is also a top aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei.
"We have enriched our uranium within international
regulations. I don't see why it is such an issue."
Tehran produced its first batch of uranium enriched to a
higher level earlier this month, prompting the US and its
allies to seek new UN Security Council sanctions.
The West accuses Iran of seeking to build atomic weapons,
and fears the enrichment of its uranium stockpile is a step in
that direction.
Iran is already subject to three sets of Security Council
sanctions meant to punish its refusal to stop uranium
enrichment.
Its recent rejection of a plan to strip it of most of its
enriched stockpile plus its belated acknowledgment it had been
secretly building a new enrichment facility has increased
sentiment for a fourth set.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, February 25, 2010, 18:56