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Iran Says EU Talks to Continue; Parliament Passes Uranium Enrichment Bill
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi yesterday welcomed passage of legislation in his country’s parliament to resume uranium enrichment, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Oct. 29). “This is a decision that testifies to Iranian honor. Iran must not be deprived of this legal and legitimate right,” Kharazi said (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Oct. 31). The conservative-dominated parliament overwhelmingly passed the enrichment measure, with calls of “Death to America” by some lawmakers. The vote yesterday was largely symbolic, according to AFP, and comes ahead of another round of nuclear talks scheduled Friday in Paris with France, Germany and the United Kingdom. “We are expecting from [them] a calendar of cooperation and we will insist on that point,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters. “We expect that in the course of this (Paris) meeting the Europeans will specify their precise commitments, concrete and clear, and the Islamic Republic will take the best decision in line with its own interests,” he added. “Certain progress” was made at last week’s meeting with the European powers in Vienna, according to Asefi, as compared with the week earlier, when he had described the European proposals as “unbalanced.” “Offering Iran a supply of fuel is a positive step, which we welcome, but this must not deprive Iran of its right to nuclear technology for peaceful reasons,” he said. He urged the Europeans to “clarify what they mean,” adding that Iran could agree to a suspension of uranium enrichment that would last until a long term solution is found (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Oct. 31). Meanwhile, Pope John Paul II told Iran’s new ambassador to the Vatican that the “conditions and mechanisms of control” of multinational agreements, including those on “the commerce of weapons and the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons” are necessary in moving toward a more peaceful world, Reuters reported. Although his address to Ambassador Mohamed Javad Faridzadeh was couched in general terms, according to Reuters, the Pope’s comments had clear implications for the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program (Philip Pullella, Reuters, Oct. 29).
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