World powers’ mistakes complicated Iran nuclear issue: Iranian ambassador

TEHRAN,Feb.5(MNA) – The Iranian ambassador to France has said that world powers further complicated issues surrounding Tehran’s nuclear program with their mistakes. The 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany), under pressure from the United States, made two “wrong” and “ill-considered” actions that further complicated the Iranian nuclear issue, the Persian service of the Mehr News Agency on Monday quoted Ambassador Ali Ahani as saying. Ahani said that world powers’ first mistake was “the imposition of economic punishments and sanctions against Iran’s banking system in the hope that they will cripple Iran’s economy and incite the Iranian nation to react. With this move, they first of all created certain problems for the Iranian people in supplying vital medicines, and secondly such hostile policies have led to the vigilant and resilient Iranian people continuing their path toward making remarkable achievements determinedly due to their understanding of the purposes of certain Western countries and further strengthened cohesion and national unity in Iran.” The Iranian ambassador added, “Another wrong and ill-considered move by the 5+1, which was against the regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency, was that they made Iran increase the level of enrichment from 3.5 percent necessary for producing fuel for nuclear plants to 20 percent through preventing fuel supply for the Tehran research reactor, which needs 20 percent enriched uranium and has medical, agricultural, and non-military purposes.” “So, the 5+1 group further complicated (the process of) achieving a solution to the nuclear issue. If they had supplied fuel for the Tehran research reactor, the uranium enrichment level in Iran would have remained below 5 percent and there would have been no need for 20 percent enrichment.” On the sidelines of the Group of 15 summit, which was held in Tehran on May 17, 2010, Iran, Turkey, and Brazil issued a declaration, according to which Iran was to ship 1200 kilograms of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey to be exchanged for 120 kilograms of 20 percent enriched nuclear fuel to power the Tehran research reactor, which produces radioisotopes for cancer treatment. According to the agreement, the exchange was to take place in Turkey under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran. But the United States and its allies rejected the deal, which Iran had offered as a goodwill gesture, and imposed a new round of sanctions on Iran in June 2010. In response, Iran decided to produce 20 percent enriched nuclear fuel and convert it into plate type nuclear fuel and constructed an advanced plant at the Isfahan nuclear facility for producing nuclear fuel plates.