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Iran insists on carrying out uranium enrichment inside country

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Nov 13, IRNA
Iran-Asefi-Nuclear
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi here Sunday stressed that uranium enrichment should be conducted inside the country.

Asefi made the remark while talking to domestic and foreign reporters at his weekly press conference.

"Balance in nuclear talks and other issues is all Iran wants," he said in response to a question on a change in stance of Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani who stressed the importance of Europe in nuclear talks and his previous remarks on a look at East in nuclear talks.

"There is a balance on agenda of our diplomacy and approaches. We attach importance to all countries including West and East.

"The Islamic Republic believes it should hold talks with all states and scope of negotiations should be broad," he said.

Asked whether the Russian Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov, during his meeting with senior Iranian officials, presented a new proposal on resumption of nuclear work at Isfahan's Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF), he said, "Such a proposal was not offered."
He also rejected the idea that Iran has made any decision to boycott French goods in line with coordination between economic and political policies.

In response to a question on recent remarks by the Information Minister Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei on definite role played by Britain in Ahvaz unrest, the spokesman said, "According to initial reports, such measures are guided from outside the country and have foreign origins.

"By the time we receive the full report of the Information Ministry, we will speak to certain countries and express our protest.

"In case of Britain, messages were exchanged between the two sides. We voiced our concerns to the Britons.

"The issue is under investigation through diplomatic channels.

We have warned Britain against the repetition of such measures, which raise suspicion."
Asefi termed claim made by the German government on dual use of certain equipment exported by the country to Iran as "quite unfounded".

He also assessed as a baseless scenario the `New York Times' claims about nuclear information which was discovered from a stolen laptop computer in Iran.

According to reports, the New York Times on its website on Saturday said that in mid-July, senior American intelligence officials called on the senior IAEA officials in a high rise building overlooking the Danube in Vienna and unveiled the contents of what they said was a stolen Iranian laptop computer.

Asked about the situation of the four kidnapped Iranian diplomats and measures taken by Iranian Foreign Ministry in this regard, he said, "Numerous measures have been taken in this regard but we should not expect results in a short period of time due to complications of the case."
The then Iranian charge d'affaires to Beirut Mohsen Moussavi, diplomat Taqi Rastegar-Moqaddam, military attache Ahmad Motevasselian and IRNA photojournalist Kazem Akhavan were kidnapped in Beirut in 1982 while being escorted by Lebanese police on their way back home from a mission in northern Lebanon.

On Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora's call for Iran's mediation role between Syria and Lebanon, the spokesman said he had not heard about such a news.

"But we always underline the importance of friendship between these two states within the framework of Iran's good relations with Syria and Lebanon."
He further said, "Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki is to pay a visit to Syria on Monday to discuss bilateral and regional issues."
Asefi said he confirms all activities of the Foreign Ministry including those related to human rights.

He expressed his condolences to world art society and family of Hollywood Arab film director Moustapha Akkad who was killed in a suicide bombing in Jordan's capital.

"Inappropriate attitude towards the phenomenon of terrorism has made the world insecure and exposed it to the threats of terrorists."
Asked about measures by the Zionist regime to block Iran's presence in the World Cup under the pretext that politics influences sports in Iran, he said, "There is no serious reason for raising of such issues."
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