Nuclear research irreversible, says Iran Government

TEHRAN - Iran said last night it would not abandon its work on uranium enrichment, which the United Nations has demanded it halt, and was prepared to face the consequences.

"Iran's uranium enrichment and nuclear research and development activities are irreversible," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told a weekly news conference.

Western nations have threatened to press for international sanctions on Iran if it does not heed calls to stop enrichment.

The United States has said it wants a diplomatic resolution to the standoff but has not ruled out military action.

The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is due to report by April 28 on whether Iran is complying with a UN demand that it halt enrichment, a process Western nations fear could be used to develop atomic weapons.

Iran announced this month that it had enriched uranium to a level used in power stations but insists its nuclear programme is purely civilian.

"If the [IAEA] report contains expert assessment, there will be nothing left to worry about," Asefi said.

"However, if the report comes out and somehow puts pressure on Iran or speaks with a language of threats, naturally Iran will not abandon its rights and it is prepared for all possible situations and has planned for them."

Asefi also said Iran was still discussing a Russian plan to enrich uranium in Russia.

- REUTERS