Iran seeks approval for centrifuges

Date: 25/11/04

Iran is to seek international approval for a scaled-down version of its nuclear research programme today (25 November), even though it has promised the EU's three largest countries to cease all uranium enrichment.

Diplomats from France, Britain and Germany have rejected the Iranian request to exempt a few dozen centrifuges from the agreement on halting its nuclear activities that it had reached with the three states' foreign ministers.

The request on the centrifuges - which can be used to purify uranium for use in nuclear weapons - has been made to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the final stages of preparations for today's discussions on Iran at the body's Vienna headquarters.

Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi held talks aimed at overcoming the latest hurdle with Jack Straw, Michel Barnier and Joschka Fischer, his counterparts from the UK, France and Germany, in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh this week.

Ensuring the deal is adhered to is widely seen as a litmus test for EU foreign policy, following the acerbic divisions between member states sparked by the war in Iran's neighbour Iraq last year.

Paris, London and Berlin have drafted an IAEA resolution urging Iran to “sustain the suspension” of uranium enrichment at its Natanz and Isfahan sites.

The EU has been taking a more conciliatory line than the US on Iran's nuclear plans. Washington has advocated that Tehran be referred to the UN Security Council, which could impose sanctions on the country for breaching the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Article reports that Iran is to seek international approval for a scaled-down version of its nuclear research programme on 25 November 2004, even though it had promised the EU's three largest countries, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, to cease all uranium enrichment.