Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

British PM Renews Nuclear Offer to Iran

By VOA News
17 March 2009

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has renewed an offer of international help for Iran to develop a civilian nuclear power industry, providing Tehran ends its uranium enrichment program.

Mr. Brown told an international conference Tuesday that Iran's secretive nuclear program has become a "critical" proliferation threat because of Tehran's refusal to end enrichment activities.

But he also said the world must find ways to help non-nuclear states meet energy needs and curb carbon emissions from fossil fuels.

The United States, Britain and other Western powers have protested Iran's nuclear program, voicing suspicions that Tehran is attempting to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear ambitions are peaceful.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said last month that Tehran had succeeded in enriching a ton of uranium. Analysts say that quantity technically gives Iran enough of the material for a single atomic warhead.

The two-day London conference brings together more than 100 delegates from 35 countries, as well as IAEA experts. Delegates come from established nuclear powers as well as from countries seeking to develop civilian nuclear programs.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.