Refer at own peril, says Iran

Indian Express:

Iran warned the West on Tuesday it would start uranium enrichment and review its membership of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if sent to the UN Security Council.

Larijani also said the world’s fourth biggest oil producer would link its stance on foreign countries’ access to its energy resources to whether they stood with Iran on its nuclear plans.

‘‘Some countries have extensive economic relations with Iran, especially in the oil sector, but feel no responsibility to defend the rights of an oppressed nation. The Supreme National Security Council is determined to balance these two issues,’’ he said. READ MORE

The comments are likely to heighten tensions at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting in Vienna where the US and the EU are seeking support to report Iran to the UN Security Council.

In Vienna, an EU diplomat said on Tuesday that Russia was resisting EU and US pressure to report Iran. Russia has built a $1 billion nuclear power station for Iran, and sees it as a key trading partner. It remains convinced that scrutiny of Tehran’s nuclear programme was a matter for the IAEA, not the UNSC.

A statement on the Russian Foreign Ministry website later said that Russia and China have agreed that “the situation surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme is not irreversible’’, and that it could be dealt with within the IAEA framework.

The statement also described a meeting in New York on Tuesday between the Russian, Chinese and Indian foreign ministers.