Straw Attacks Iran Nuclear Stance

BBC News:

UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has described as "unhelpful" the Iranian president's assertion that Iran has a right to produce nuclear energy. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the UN his country had an "inalienable right" to produce nuclear energy - but said Islam precluded Iran having atomic weapons.

The US and the EU want Iran to give up any idea of enrichment capability.

Mr Straw said the speech was "disappointing" given recent talks with Iran over its nuclear stance.

The Foreign Office said nothing in Mr Ahmadinejad's speech suggested Iran wanted to abide by an agreement it had previously made.

But it said it was a difficult issue and "the only way to resolve it is diplomatically".

Iran insists on nuclear rights

Iran recently resumed uranium processing, an activity that had been suspended since November 2004 while talks were held with three European countries - the UK, France and Germany - about its long-term nuclear plans.

Western powers fear Iran secretly wants to develop the ability to make a nuclear bomb.

Mr Ahmadinejad said Iran's programme was entirely legal and attacked what he called a "nuclear apartheid" that permits some countries to enrich fuel, but not others.

A senior US state department official speaking on the condition of anonymity, described Mr Ahmadinejad's speech as "very aggressive".

Mr Straw told the BBC the stance by Mr Ahmadinejad was not surprising given his position during Iranian elections three months ago.

IAEA consultation

However, his speech was "all the more disappointing" because Iran's talks with France, Germany, the UK, and Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy representative - and with intermediaries such as UN secretary general Kofi Annan - had failed to persuade the country to change its policy.

"It is a difficult moment for the international community," Mr Straw said.

A Foreign Office spokesman said the UK would "consult our partners on the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors.

"We and our colleagues in France and Germany along with [EU foreign policy chief] Javier Solana have worked very hard for two years to resolve this difficult issue.

"The only way to resolve it is diplomatically.

"But the Iranian president has offered nothing in this speech to suggest that he wants to abide by the agreement Iran has made."

Sanctions possible

An EU spokeswoman told Reuters news agency Mr Ahmadinejad's language "leaves us no alternative but to pursue a UN referral". READ MORE

"However, we want to build an international consensus on the matter. So we will be consulting with everybody," she said.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said the option of reporting Iran to the UN Security Council to face possible sanctions "remains on the agenda."

The board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency nuclear watchdog is meeting on Monday in Vienna.

The US and EU may ask the board to refer the Iran dossier to the 15-nation Security Council.

But BBC diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall said it was not certain whether the US and EU partners would convince other countries that Iran deserved to be reprimanded.

Iran has invited other nations to collaborate on its nuclear activities, which may for some sound like an attractive offer, she says. Iran's complaint that there is a double standard about who is allowed to become a nuclear power may be met with some sympathy.