Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak says the former chief of the UN nuclear agency Mohamed ElBaradei must follow the constitution if he intends to run for presidency in the authoritarian country.

The 81-year-old Egyptian president made the remark Thursday after ElBaradei called for a partial readjustment of the constitution in order to enable potential candidates to ‘freely’ challenge Mubarak in the country’s 2011 presidential election.

“If he wants to join a party, he could choose whichever one he wants,” Mubarak told journalists in Germany, where he is scheduled to undergo medical examinations for abdominal pains.

“The only thing is that he must respect the constitution,” he went on to say, adding that Egypt “does not need a new hero,” AFP quoted him as saying.

ElBaradei, who has gained prominence over his tenure as the chief of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has reportedly said, however, that he would run for his country’s presidency provided that the constitution is amended.

The former IAEA chief has formed the National Association for Change in Egypt and described the ruling government as ‘undemocratic.’

He has also said that it would not take long before the country finds ‘real’ democratic changes.

Former UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei, a potential candidate for presidency in Egypt, says the country will only change through the young, report says.

“If Egypt were going to change, it is going to change through the young people,” he told Reuters.

“I believe the current system is not free and fair, and, whoever would run under the current system, I would make it very clear that this is not democracy as it should be,” he added in the report published Saturday.

ElBaradei said that he would run for 2011 presidency “only if people coalesce around me.”

The 67-year-old former International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director, said that the advocacy of the so-called ’silent majority’ held the key to success for his coalition of opposition parties in the next presidential race.

“The key is the silent majority of the Egyptians, and if the silent majority subscribes to this National Front. I think that will make a very big difference,” he noted.

“I have tried to make the connection between economic and social development and political reform. If you move into a democratic system everything else will fall into place,” he went on to say.

“It is going to take a long time to switch Egypt into a democracy,” ElBaradei said in the interview, holding that many Egyptians were “intimidated” against speaking their minds.

Egypt’s current President Hosni Mubarak has been in power for around 30 years.

Tehran’s Ambassador to the UN nuclear watchdog Ali Asghar Soltanieh has provided more details about the nature of the Iranian nuclear program.

One week after the new International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief, Yukiya Amano, issued a report about Iran’s nuclear program, Soltanieh on Wednesday shed light on certain aspects of the Iranian nuclear work.

Amano, in his first report on Iran’s nuclear activities on February 18, once again verified the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran but called on Tehran to further discuss and cooperate on the issue of the alleged studies.

Iran reacted to the report, saying that, despite confirming the non-diversion of the country’s nuclear work, the report failed to mention Iran’s “explanations” and hence was “unbalanced.”

In an IAEA meeting on Wednesday, the Iranian envoy used rhetorical questions in a bid to enlighten the members about Iran’s 20 percent-enriched uranium and the issue of the alleged studies.

In his remarks, a copy of which was obtained by Press TV, Soltanieh asked if any new developments had taken place in the Iranian nuclear work indicating that it has been diverted to a military nuclear program.

“Since the previous report and since the new director general took the office, have the [International Atomic energy] Agency inspectors reported any new developments [in the Iranian nuclear program] except for the 20 percent uranium enrichment?” he asked.

“Did any critical developments pertaining to Iran’s nuclear work occur in the report of the former director general [Mohamed ElBaradei]? Did you find any nuclear material related to weapons, or indicative of any deviation toward military objectives,” he asked, adding that the answer was a definite no.

Soltanieh also asked the question as to whether any new information had been added to the issue of the alleged studies, which Iran considers as fabricated and devoid of any authentication.

The envoy said that Iran has only viewed the so-called evidence on the alleged studies in the form of “power point documents” and had found it lacking in credibility.

According to Soltanieh, Iran then provided a 117-page report and attended several meetings explaining why it called the document fabricated while the recent IAEA report suggested that Tehran had rejected the allegations without being cooperative enough with the IAEA.

He said that the new report should have mentioned that the issue of the alleged studies had not been authenticated, as confirmed by former IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei, and that the so-called evidence on them did not bear any classified stamps, as confidential documents usually do.

Soltanieh then shifted to Iran’s 20 percent enrichment at its Natanz site.

Through correspondence between Iran and the IAEA, Iran informed the body that it wanted to enrich the uranium for Tehran’s research reactor and called on the IAEA to send inspectors to the country, he said.

The IAEA consequently informed Iran that the inspectors would be present in the country to remove the seals of the 30B cylinder containing LEU (Low Enriched Uranium).

Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), rejects the allegations of having military objectives in its nuclear program as politically motivated and says its nuclear work is totally peaceful and within the framework of the NPT.

A senior Iranian lawmaker insists that Iran’s missile program is not within the jurisdiction of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“Iran’s missile capability is none of the agency’s business,” said Alaeddin Boroujerdi, Chairman of the parliamentary (Majlis) Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy on Wednesday.

“Where were the agency and other international organizations when, during the eight-year (Iraqi-imposed) war, Iranian cities were attacked by Iraqi missiles,” he added.

The lawmaker, from the western City of Borujerd, was referring to the IAEA’s latest report that accuses Iran of trying to develop “nuclear payload for a missile.”

“These alleged activities consist of a number of projects and sub-projects, covering nuclear- and missile-related aspects, run by the military-related organizations,” AIEA Director General Yukiya Amano’s report alleged on Thursday.

Amano, who has reportedly claimed that at his new position he wants to focus on “the facts” and pursue a more technical approach than his predecessor, Mohamed ElBaradei, also complained about the level of Iran’s cooperation with the agency.

This is while the UN nuclear watchdog has carried out the highest number of inspections in Iran compared to any other country throughout its history and has found nothing to indicate that the program has diverted toward weaponization.

Iran’s envoy to the IAEA has objected to the fact that suspicions have been raised about Tehran’s nuclear activities only because it is not implementing voluntary protocols.

“We have to be able distinguish between two different issues. One is the Safeguards Agreement… and the other is additional measures, which are voluntary like the additional protocol. They cover more activities,” Ali-Asghar Soltanieh told Press TV on Sunday.

“For example, if a country also applies the additional protocol, as we were doing for two and a half years, they would be reporting on uranium mines. Now we are not reporting,” he added, pointing out that it did not mean that Iran was doing anything wrong.

Soltanieh was referring to a report issued on Thursday by International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano which accuses Tehran of not providing “the necessary cooperation to permit the Agency to confirm that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities.”

However, Iran’s nuclear facilities and enriched uranium are still under the supervision of IAEA inspectors, as outlined in the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Safeguards Agreement.

Like all previous IAEA reports, the newly issued evaluation verifies the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran, but the complaint about the level of cooperation refers to Iran’s lack of inclination to implement the additional protocol.

Amano’s report also says that there were concerns about “the possible existence… of past or current undisclosed activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile.”

Soltanieh also addressed that part of the report, saying that the IAEA chief cites no “new cause for concern” about Tehran’s activities except a series of alleged documents that were already examined by his predecessor Mohamed ElBaradei.

Three years ago, a row erupted between Iran and the West when the CIA claimed to have obtained a series of documents on a laptop that had allegedly been smuggled out of Iran.

According to the CIA’s claim, the documents apparently showed Iranian nuclear work deviating toward militarization.

However, afterwards the US refused to provide either Tehran or the IAEA access to the contents of the laptop for independent analysis or confirmation, arguing that the reports were top secret.

This, along with other points raised by Iranian officials and independent media, leads to serious doubts about the authenticity of the documents.

The absence of any confidentiality stamps, dates, or senders and recipients markings on the rather detailed documents was one of the main points that Tehran had raised in a 117-page document that disputed the authenticity of the alleged papers.

During his interview with Press TV, Soltanieh said that he has asked the IAEA director general why he included a reference to past issues regarding Tehran’s nuclear program in his first report on Iran.

Soltanieh added that Amano had acknowledged that his reference to the alleged studies was “absolutely nothing new” but simply an attempt to provide a background on all previous issues regarding Iran’s nuclear program.

“There is nothing new. The alleged studies were forged… two or three times, Mr. ElBaradei officially announced that there is no authenticity to these materials. Therefore, the director general has already questioned the validity of these materials.

“Mr. Amano only tried to bring a full background on the issues that were discussed before for the reader to understand the background. Of course it unfortunately has created some misunderstandings,” Soltanieh said.

Iran’s envoy to the UN atomic watchdog says the concern expressed in the Agency’s latest report is “groundless,” as it is not based on any new information.

On Thursday, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Yukiya Amano issued a report about Iran’s nuclear program, verifying the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in the country.

Although new IAEA chief confirmed that Iran’s nuclear work had not diverted toward military agendas, he claimed that there were concerns about “the possible existence… of past or current undisclosed activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile.”

Amano, who has reportedly said that at his new position he wants to focus on “the facts” and pursue a more technical approach than his predecessor Mohamed ElBaradei, also complained about the level of Iran’s cooperation with the Agency.

This is while the UN nuclear watchdog has carried out the highest number of inspections in Iran compared to any other country throughout its history, and found nothing to indicate that the program has diverted toward weaponization.

“It seems that unsubstantiated allegations that certain countries had previously made about Iran have once again been introduced in this report,” Tehran’s Ambassador to the IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh told ISNA on Friday.

“Issues pertaining to the alleged studies, missiles and explosives are worn-out topics, which have already been dismissed in ElBaradei’s reports. They are not anything new,” he added.

He then went on to imply that the IAEA’s decision to reintroduce to past issues and take a different tone was the direct result of a change in its leadership, and not the outcome of not an unbiased evaluation.

“Considering that there is a new chief in place, it is strange that the IAEA’s Safeguards Department has once again brought up all past issues regarding Iran’s nuclear activities. It leaves room for criticism,” he said.

“There is no reason why already examined cases relating to Iran’s nuclear work should be reopened once again… this [repetition] could cause misunderstandings to occur,” he added.

Soltanieh said that a close look at the report showed that the IAEA had, as always, confirmed that Tehran’s activities were peaceful and under Agency supervision.

He then criticized Western powers for interpreting the IAEA report in an “exaggerated, selective and inaccurate” manner.

Iran’s Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ali Asghar Soltanieh says Iran reserves the right to enrich uranium to 20 percent at the Natanz enrichment facility.

“Iran has the right to enrich uranium to 20 percent to provide fuel for the Tehran research reactor,” Soltanieh said in an interview with the Al-Alam News Network on Wednesday.

The Iranian official underlined that any confrontation with Iran over its nuclear issue would not be in the interest of anyone.

“Iran sent a letter to former IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei in June 2009 and, in line the IAEA statutes, asked him to provide Iran with the nuclear fuel needed for the Tehran research reactor,” he explained.

According to Soltanieh, it took the IAEA some time before replying that they are ready to do so but have certain conditions.

“We informed them in our letter that we would enrich uranium to 20 percent in order to obtain the required fuel for the Tehran research reactor and cancer patients,” he asserted.

“We are not concerned about some people being against the 20 percent uranium enrichment, because our work is legal,” he added.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday tasked the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran with enriching uranium to 20 percent in order to provide fuel for the research reactor, which produces medical isotopes for cancer patients and is soon to run out of fuel.

Upon the president’s order, Iran began enriching uranium to a level of 20 percent at its Natanz enrichment facility under the surveillance of inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog.

A proposal backed by the IAEA wants Tehran to send most of its domestically-produced low enriched uranium abroad for further enrichment.

Tehran has called for the swap deal to take place on its own soil, arguing that if it ships the bulk of its enriched uranium, there will be no guarantee that the fuel would eventually find its way back to the country.

The US, however, insists that the deal would see no amendments, asking Iran to accept it in its original form.

Iran says it will announce the sites allocated for its 10 new enrichment facilities within the timeframe set by the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

“Our cooperation will shrink to the level of our safeguards agreement and from now on it will not include articles that require speedy notification about new facilities such as Fordo,” said the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEO).

“Henceforth, Iran will only cooperate within the framework of commitments,” Ali Akbar Salehi added in a Monday interview with Mehr news.

According to the NPT, signatory states are obliged to inform the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of their intention to open a new uranium enrichment facility only six months before the site enters operational phase.

However, on September 21, when Iran notified the IAEA about its plans to construct a new facility in the central town of Fordo, it did not receive welcoming reactions from the nuclear watchdog and Western powers.

While the IAEA conducted a full inspection of the site and announced that it had found no nuclear material at the facility, it criticized Tehran for not announcing its plans even earlier.

Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei did not even move to stop a motion passed at the IAEA Board of Governors, which called on Iran to stop construction at the site, despite having once again confirmed the non-divergence of Iran’s nuclear program in his report.

The above reaction by the IAEA did not go down well in Iran, where the parliament was forced to call for a reduction in voluntary cooperation with the Agency and a return to basic commitments.

Now, considering that parliamentary decision, expectations are that Iran will not announce where the new enrichment sites it plans to build are to be located no sooner than the deadline set by the Agency.

The United Nations atomic watchdog has convened for a two-day meeting to discuss the Iranian nuclear program.

According to AFP, the 35-member board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) began two days of deliberations covering various topics, including Iran, North Korea, Syria and a Russian proposal for a fuel bank.

It will be the last meeting under the leadership of Egyptian diplomat Mohamed ElBaradei, who will step down as the IAEA Director General on November 30, after 12 years in office.

The meeting comes after ElBaradei rejected a proposal by the Iranian government to exchange low-enriched uranium (LEU) in a simultaneous swap on Iranian territory.

Speaking at the opening of the two-day meeting, ElBaradei said he was “disappointed” by Iran’s refusal to accept the IAEA-proposed deal, which envisages Iran shipping out most of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) to be further enriched and returned to the country for the Tehran medical research reactor.

“I am disappointed that Iran has not so far agreed to the original proposal or the alternative modalities, both of which I believe are balanced and fair and would greatly help to alleviate the concerns relating to Iran’s nuclear program,” he told the IAEA governing board.

The Iranian officials have firmly rejected the idea, mainly because there are no concrete guarantees that the country would in fact receive the nuclear fuel it requires.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has announced that Iran’s enriched uranium supply will not be sent abroad to be exchanged with the fuel rods needed for the Tehran medical reactor.

He instead said that although Iran would prefer to buy the 20 percent-enriched uranium rather than exchanging it with the LEU, the country would consider the latter option as long as it takes place inside the Iranian territory.

Tehran says it does Not view Tel Aviv as a threat anymore because clearly Israel has lost its one-time influence in the Middle East.

Nearly a year after Israel butchered over 1,400 Palestinians during a devastating incursion, Iran’s Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani said on Wednesday that Israel No longer intimidates regional countries.

“There was a time that Israel, because of its desire to dominate and kill, was seen as a mortal threat in the region,” said Larijani on Wednesday

“But after the three-week war on Gaza it became more and more clear that Tel Aviv is Nothing without the financial and political help it gets from Washington,” he added. “Israel has become a lifeless political corpse with No ability to fend for itself.”

Larijani was referring to Israel’s military foray into Gaza last December which led to the death of more than 1,400 Palestinians, the majority of whom were civilians.

With regards to US calls for Iran to accept a western-backed nuclear proposal, Larijani said that over the past thirty years, Washington has Not for a moment changed its tyrannical frame of mind.

“We should Not fall for the smiles and kind words that US officials deliver to us,” said Larijani. “The US political stance over the IAEA proposal shows that Washington aims to swindle us out of our enriched uranium.”

The Iranian Parliament speaker was referring to a draft deal brokered by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei.

The proposal, in its current state, asks Iran to send most of its domestically produced low-enriched uranium (LEU) abroad for further refinement.

Iran needs 20 percent-enriched uranium to power the Tehran nuclear reactor, which produces medicine for cancer treatment and other scientific necessities.

In a counter-proposal, Tehran has suggested keeping the LEU in a room sealed by the IAEA inside the country until the higher-enriched uranium arrives. Under this proposal, the exchange would be completed in two stages — 400 kg of Iran’s LEU would be exchanged with 58 kg of 20 percent-enriched uranium in each stage.

UN inspectors are expected to visit Iran’s Fordo enrichment facility on Thursday, the Iranian envoy to the IAEA has announced.

“There will be another inspection of this site [Fordo] tomorrow,” IRNA quoted Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh as saying on Wednesday.

“This site will from now on be under the IAEA supervision,” he added.

This is the second time the UN inspectors visit the nuclear plant. Four UN inspectors first visited the site on October 25.

According to Soltaniyeh, the latest report by the IAEA chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, proved that the media hype and propaganda surrounding the Fordo plant were baseless.

“The report confirmed that no centrifuges had been introduced into the facility and that no nuclear material had been used in it,” he said on Tuesday.

The Iranian diplomat further reiterated that his country would “continue restoring its nuclear rights including uranium enrichment and cooperating with the IAEA.”

Tehran faces pressure to halt its nuclear enrichment activities, as Western powers claim the program is aimed at developing nuclear weapons.

Iran, a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), has repeatedly said that its activities are aimed at the civilian applications of the technology.

The Islamic Republic has also called for the removal of all weapons of mass destruction from across the globe.

Iran has again turned down an offer by the UN nuclear watchdog requiring the country to ship its enriched uranium to neighboring Turkey.

“This proposal which was made by the chief of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) a long time ago was rejected by Iranian authorities at the time,” a well-informed source told ISNA on Sunday.

The source talking on condition of anonymity said that, “It seems the IAEA chief is trying to take advantage of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to Turkey to gain media coverage on a closed issue.”

The UN nuclear watchdog has suggested Turkey as the third country in a draft deal that would provide Iran with fuel for its Tehran research reactor.

The outgoing head of IAEA Mohamed ElBaradei said on Friday that Turkey could enter the proposal as the third-country destination, According to Bloomberg website.

“It should work.” ElBaradei had said on Public Broadcasting’s Charlie Rose television show. “Iran has a lot of trust in Turkey.”

ElBaradei said that the US government would also agree to the suggestion since the Obama administration is “very comfortable with Turkey.”

ElBaradei added that though he has not yet presented the idea to Turkey, he was confident that Ankara would accept the idea to hold the material in IAEA custody.

Iran would then get fuel for its research reactor in Tehran from Russia, he added.

The mid-October nuclear draft discussed in Vienna envisages Iran shipping out some portions of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) to be converted into metal fuel rods and returned to the country for the Tehran medical research reactor.

Tehran says that modifications must be made to the draft deal to safeguard the country’s interests.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki reiterated in a televised program late Thursday that Iran’s ‘economic and technical’ concerns should be taken into consideration.

“The Islamic Republic examines all the proposals. We have examined this proposal; we have some technical and economic considerations (which need to be addressed),” he said.

Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Chairman Alaeddin Boroujerdi has said that Iran will announce its final decision about the nuclear proposal after the talks between its ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, and IAEA officials.

The issue is being closely examined to see what can be done but no decision has been made yet, Boroujerdi told ISNA on Saturday.

Commenting on the remarks by some Western officials, who said that Iran should announce its final decision on Monday, he stated, “The Westerner’s cannot set any deadline for us.”

The nuclear fuel talks between Iran, Russia, the United States, and France in Vienna concluded on October 21 without a final agreement, but IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei presented a proposal for the four countries to study and said he hoped that all parties would give a firm response to his draft deal by October 23.

Under the draft deal, a large consignment of Iran’s enriched uranium would be shipped out of the country for processing into fuel rods with a purity of 20 percent, which would be used by a research reactor in Tehran that manufactures medical radioisotopes.

On October 23, diplomats from Russia, France, and the United States submitted their formal approvals of the deal to process Iran’s nuclear fuel abroad.

Several senior Iranian officials, including Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani, have strongly criticized the deal, saying it is neither logical nor legal.

MP Ahmad Avaii of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee stated that Iran does not trust the West so Western countries should try to gain Iran’s confidence.

“Just as Western countries are always saying that Iran should build confidence and ‘we’ (Westerners) do not have confidence in Iran, we (Iranians) have also had bitter experiences in relations with the West and do not trust the West,” he told ISNA on Saturday.

Avaii said he believes the West wants to deceive Iran and has thus proposed a plan whose practical result would be the suspension of nuclear activities.

The MP also stated that Iran is a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and should have the same rights as all the other NPT signatory states.

But Iran’s membership in the NPT has provided no advantages so far, he said.

No guarantee that West will fulfill promises

MP Seyyed Hossein Naqavi has said that there is no guarantee that the Westerners will fulfill their commitments in the talks and Iran is right to distrust them.

There is no guarantee, and thus the proposal for a fuel exchange is out of the question, he told ISNA on Saturday.

The MP explained that Iran first intended to accept the deal to acquire the fuel rods with a purity of 20 percent but the Westerners did not build confidence in this regard and Iran could not trust them.

Iran does not trust the countries that made the proposal to provide Iran the enriched uranium because they reneged on their previous commitments, he noted.

UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei criticized the United States on Monday for using a false pretext to invade Iraq, costing the lives of possibly hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.

Former US President George W Bush ordered US troops into Iraq in March 2003 to overthrow dictator Saddam Hussein, citing evidence of the existence of weapons of mass destruction in that country. No such weapons were found after the invasion.

ElBaradei said Iraq and North Korea were two cases of suspected nuclear proliferation in the 1990s. “I will always lament the fact that a tragic war was launched in Iraq,” he said in a last address to the UN General Assembly.

“This was done on the basis of false pretext, without the authorization of the UN Security Council,” he said.

He said the IAEA and UN weapons inspectors had found no evidence that Iraq’s nuclear programmes involved production of weapons of mass destruction.

“It gives me no consolation that the agency (IAEA)’s findings were subsequently vindicated,” he said, implying that the US military campaign in Iraq had caused high civilians casualties.

As Tehran is seeking guarantees for its nuclear fuel supplies, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog has called for Iran’s quick response to his proposal on the issue.

“I urge Iran to be as forthcoming as possible in responding soon to my recent proposal,” said the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei told the UN General Assembly on Monday.

He added that Iran’s swift response to the proposal ‘could build confidence and trust’.

Following three days of nuclear negotiations between officials from Iran, the United States, Russia and France in October, Western powers put forward a proposal that Iran ship much of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) abroad for reprocessing into fuel for a Tehran medical research reactor.

Iran has stressed that the country’s technical and economic considerations should be taken into account regarding the IAEA-brokered proposal.

“The issue at stake remains that of mutual guarantees amongst the parties,” ElBaradei said.

“I should add however that trust and confidence-building are an incremental process that requires focusing on the big picture and a willingness to take risks for peace.”

Speaking to Press TV on Monday, Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh expressed the Islamic Republic’s readiness to buy its needed nuclear fuel from global suppliers.

Soltaniyeh, however, added that the IAEA and the Western powers should assure Iran that the country’s technical concerns regarding ‘guarantees for the supply of fuel’ are considered.

ElBaradei warned other countries not to ‘jump the gun’ or be swayed by politics, urging them to allow IAEA to conduct its inspections thoroughly and properly.

“Force should never be used unless every other option has been exhausted, and only then within the bounds of international law … All of these lessons are applicable today in the case of Iran,” he added.

Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani has said the West is trying to trick Iran into giving away its supply of 4.5 percent enriched uranium.

“My guess is that the Americans have made a secret deal with certain countries to take 4.5 percent enriched uranium away from us under the pretext of providing nuclear fuel (to us)… (and) we hope Iranian officials will pay due attention to this issue,” he told ISNA on Saturday.

Giving away enriched uranium in return for nuclear fuel cannot be logically or legally justified, he added.

According to International Atomic Energy Agency regulations, the supply of nuclear fuel for the Tehran research reactor should be guaranteed, and the Western powers should not try to make any deceptive moves, Larijani said.

He made the remarks one day after diplomats from Russia, France, and the United States submitted their formal approvals of a deal to process Iran’s nuclear fuel abroad.

Iran’s response to the IAEA proposal was due on Friday, but Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said Tehran is still studying the deal and will formulate a response next week.

The nuclear fuel talks in Vienna concluded on Wednesday without a final agreement, but IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei presented a proposal for the four countries to study, saying he hoped that all parties would make a firm response to his draft deal by Friday October 23.

Under the draft deal, a large consignment of Iran’s enriched uranium would be shipped out of the country for processing into fuel rods with a purity of 20 percent, which would be used by a research reactor in Tehran that manufactures medical radioisotopes.

“We are still working and elaborating on all the details of this proposal, from technical and all other aspects,” Ambassador Soltanieh told ISNA on Saturday.

“After the final evaluation, I will inform ElBaradei next week, as soon as I return to Vienna, about the results (of our evaluation),” he said.

He called the three-day meeting of representatives from Iran, the United States, Russia, France, and the IAEA “positive and constructive”, and said, “Therefore we are also waiting for the other parties to study our proposals and to reflect the results of the evaluation.”

Soltanieh did not reveal any details of the Iranian proposals, but Press TV earlier quoted a senior member of the Iranian negotiating team as saying that Iran prefers to buy the fuel from an international seller.

Iran can produce 20 percent enriched nuclear fuel

Soltanieh also said that Iran is able to domestically produce 20 percent enriched nuclear fuel for the Tehran research reactor.

However, Iran prefers to purchase the needed fuel for the reactor, which is part of a peaceful project for the production of medical isotopes, from foreign countries.

Iran insists its nuclear program is completely peaceful and that it has the right to enrich uranium.

Western states believe it is attempting to develop a nuclear weapons program, although the IAEA has never found evidence that Iran’s civilian nuclear program has been diverted to weapons production.

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council (Britain, China, France, Russia, and the U.S.) and Germany — which are collectively known as the 5+1 group — plan to hold a new round of wider-ranging nuclear talks with Iran in Geneva next week.

After the removal of France from the list of potential suppliers of highly-enriched uranium to Iran, nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers have been rescheduled.

UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei opened the first day of the meeting in Vienna on Monday in which delegations from Iran, France, Russia and the United States as well as experts from the agency discussed a deal to supply highly-enriched uranium for an Iranian research reactor.

France had been removed from the list of potential suppliers as Iran says the country has failed to deliver nuclear materials in the past.

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero was quoted by AFP that the country was participating in the meeting on Tuesday.

“It is a meeting of experts, in which we are participating,” Valero said. “There are many technical parameters to take into account for the supply of nuclear fuel and we will see later which states will take part.”

However, a diplomatic source close to the negotiations told Press TV that according to the draft of the deal which was handed out by ElBaradei in the morning, France was not being considered as a potential supplier.

“The elimination of France from the deal’s draft is certain,” the source said.

Tehran requires uranium enriched to the 20 percent level for its research reactor, which produces isotopes for medical use.

Western countries have proposed that Tehran trade its low-level uranium with higher level. However, Iran wants to buy the fuel rather than exchanging it.

The spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Shirzadian, said Monday that should the talks in Vienna fail, Tehran would enrich uranium to the required level.

“If the negotiations do not yield the desired results, we will write a letter and announce to the IAEA that Iran would act directly to supply the fuel for the Tehran reactor,” he said. “Iran has capabilities to enrich uranium to the 20 percent level.”

Secretary-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei once more stressed on peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear activities.

In an interview with the Austrian Die Presse daily, the IAEA Chief said the threat of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear work is exaggerated.

“Understanding the issue, American President Barak Obama urges discussion is the only way for solving the matter,” he added.

ElBaradei insisted that the Zionist regime’s status as a non-signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was the source of the regional imbalance.

The IAEA Chief further said we need a permanent peace in the region therefore the Middle East especially the occupied Palestine should change into a region free from nuclear weapons.

After Iran held wide-ranging talks with the West based on its latest package of proposals, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi hails the meeting as a “national success”.

“We achieved the outcome of Iran’s resistance [to foreign pressure over its nuclear program] in Geneva talks,” Qashqavi told reporters at his weekly press conference Monday.

Iranian representatives and diplomats from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — Russia, China, France, Britain and the US – plus Germany (P5+1) held high-level negotiations in Geneva on October 1.

In what appears to be an effort to downplay Iran’s achievements in its wide-ranging talks with P5+1 group which was held based on Iran’s package of proposal- presented earlier to Western states-, Susan Rice said Washington and its veto-holding allies are already studying the sanction options if Iran does not prove the peaceful nature of its nuclear program.

The seven-and-a-half hour Geneva meeting had Iran’s points of views on global issues and the country’s mutual concerns with the West top on the agenda with six party members refusing to insist on Iran to halt its nuclear activities.

The sides also agreed to continue the talks through October.

“During the Geneva meeting, the sides held no talks on Iran’s nuclear rights. The Islamic Republic has previously announced that it will never give up its nuclear rights based on regulations of the [Non-Proliferation Treaty] NPT.”

The spokesman pointed to the recent visit by the IAEA chief to Tehran and said Mohamed ElBaradei was full of praise for Iran’s cooperation over its nuclear program.

“ElBaradei praised Iran’s cooperation,” Qashqavi said.

In line with country’s transparency policy over its nuclear activities, he head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali-Akbar Salehi invited ElBaradei to Tehran to set a date for the UN atomic watchdog to inspect the under-construction Fordo nuclear facility.

ElBaradei said in Tehran on Sunday that the agency’s inspectors will visit Fordo site, some 160 Kilometers south of Tehran, on October 25.

“At present we are shifting from confrontation to cooperation and I am asking Iran to continue its transparency,” he said.

“We are now on an appropriate path. The agency and the international community and Iran have started constructive talks”.

Qashqavi touched upon a trilateral meeting between Iran, the IAEA and countries which are ready for talks set for October 19 to discuss the fuel of Tehran research reactor.

“There is one reactor in Tehran which produces nuclear isotopes for medical applications. Fuel of this reactor needs 20 percent enriched uranium,” Qashqavi said.

“There is no covert issue about the reactor,” he added.

The Tehran research reactor which produces radiomedicine for cancer patients runs on uranium that is some 20 percent U-235 – an enrichment level higher than what is currently produced at Iran’s Natanz enrichment facility.

The activities in the research reactor, located in Tehran’s northern Amirabad, is just a small part of Iran’s nuclear program and the issue has nothing to do with Iran’s wide-ranging talks with group P5+1 which are based on Iran’s proposal package presented to Western powers.

The UN nuclear watchdog Chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, says regional and global stability can only be achieved through total nuclear disarmament.

“I have always taken the view that the world would only be safe when we have a world free from nuclear weapons,” ElBaradei said in a joint press conference with the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency Ali-Akbar Salehi in Tehran on Sunday.

ElBaradei, who was responding to a question by Press TV’s reporter Gisoo Misha Ahmadi added: “The region of the Middle East can only see regional stability and regional security when it is established as a nuclear weapon free-zone.”

The head of UN nuclear watchdog acknowledged that denuclearization is a goal on which the International Atomic Energy Agency had made little progress.

“Unfortunately on… Middle East free from nuclear weapons we haven’t made much progress there is still a major difference between Israel on the one side and Arab countries and Iran on the other side.”

Israel– which has initiated several wars in the region in its 60-year-old history– is the region’s sole nuclear-armed power with what is believed to be an arsenal of over 200 ready-to-launch atomic warheads. It is also one of the only three regimes in the world that have not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The IAEA director-general claimed, however, that Tel Aviv agrees “the long-term goal of a nuclear free zone in the Middle East.”

“I hope we should be able to make progress in the near term because there is no stability in my view, there is no enduring security in the Middle East without having the Middle East free from all inhumane weapons, nuclear weapons, chemical weapons biological weapons,” he said.

ElBaradei also commented on the future of global disarmament and criticized nuclear armed states for maintaining their nuclear stockpiles.

“On a world free from nuclear weapons unfortunately the weapons states did not really make good on their commitment for 30 years under the NPT,” ElBaradei said.

However, he did say that the new US administration’s approach towards disarmament has given him “a glimmer of hope that we are on the right track”.

“Recently [US President] Barack Obama has taken an initiative for the world to complete concrete steps towards a world free from nuclear weapons.

“They are negotiating now, the US and Russia negotiating an agreement to cut their nuclear arsenal to one third by the end of the year…. We should focus on abolishing this nuclear weapon not only in one region but in the entire globe.”