Rafsanjani Says Nuclear Work Will Go Ahead

Reuters:

Giving up Iran's nuclear fuel program would be a "shameful stain" on the country, a senior cleric said on Friday. Washington accuses Tehran of pursuing atomic weapons. Iran says it wants nuclear technology to generate electricity and not to make bombs.

Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani told worshippers at Friday prayers at Tehran University: "We will never abandon our obvious right, otherwise it will be a stain of shame on our history." READ MORE

France, Britain and Germany, who share the U.S. view Iran may be planning to build nuclear weapons, have been in talks to convince the Islamic state to drop making nuclear fuel in return for economic incentives.

Rafsanjani, the head of the Expediency Council, which arbitrates on legislative disputes between parliament and a hardline watchdog body, also hinted at Iran's readiness to work out a diplomatic solution to settle the nuclear dispute with the European Union.

"Prudently and by adopting proper measures, we should not let our legitimate right to be ignored," he added in the sermon broadcast live on state radio.

Iran has agreed to freeze some nuclear work while it negotiates a long-term arrangement with the EU, talks on which are due to resume in August.

Iranian officials have warned that Tehran would resume its enrichment program, which can produce bomb-grade fuel, if the talks failed.

Rafsanjani's comments echoed those of hardline President-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who scored a crushing victory against the cleric in Iran's presidential election run-off in June.

"Nuclear states have no right to deprive developing nations from pursuing nuclear energy," said Ahmadinejad on Thursday in his first public appearance since his landslide win.

Iran has asserted that Ahmadinejad's win will not lead to changes in nuclear policy, as the final word on that and other matters of state lies with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.