Iran would stop enriching uranium to a high grade if it was assured of the supplies it wanted for a research reactor, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on the eve of the investiture of the country's first nuclear power plant. His remarks came as the US supposedly told Israel it believes Iran is still a year away from being able to build a nuclear weapon maybe lessening the chances of a pre-emptive military beat that could ignite war across the Middle East. Ahmadinejad's comments to a Japanese newspaper appear intended to deflect international pressure over Iran's nuclear programme.
"We assure to stop enriching uranium to 20% purity if we are ensured fuel supply," he was quoted as saying by the Yomiuri Shimbun. But he rejected calls by the UN security council for Iran to halt all enrichment, not just to the higher level necessary to build weapons. "We have a right to enrich uranium," he said. "We have never initiate war or required nuclear bombs." Earlier this week Iran's ultimate leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned that his country would not connect in nuclear talks with the US unless sanctions were lifted and military threats ended.
Israel, and tacit atomic power which has not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), has often warned that it cannot live with a nuclear-armed Iran and oblique it may attack it, as it did Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981. The US has powerfully backed tougher sanctions and there have been signs that Iran has experienced technical problems with its nuclear programme, either because of the difficulties in obtaining parts or as a result of intentional sabotage. The New York Times quoted Israeli officials as saying that their assessments were coming into line with the US view, but they remain suspicious that Iran has a secret enrichment site yet to be discovered.
"We assure to stop enriching uranium to 20% purity if we are ensured fuel supply," he was quoted as saying by the Yomiuri Shimbun. But he rejected calls by the UN security council for Iran to halt all enrichment, not just to the higher level necessary to build weapons. "We have a right to enrich uranium," he said. "We have never initiate war or required nuclear bombs." Earlier this week Iran's ultimate leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned that his country would not connect in nuclear talks with the US unless sanctions were lifted and military threats ended.
Israel, and tacit atomic power which has not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), has often warned that it cannot live with a nuclear-armed Iran and oblique it may attack it, as it did Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981. The US has powerfully backed tougher sanctions and there have been signs that Iran has experienced technical problems with its nuclear programme, either because of the difficulties in obtaining parts or as a result of intentional sabotage. The New York Times quoted Israeli officials as saying that their assessments were coming into line with the US view, but they remain suspicious that Iran has a secret enrichment site yet to be discovered.
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