The United States warned &to=http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/12/11/40695.html' target=_blank>Iran against pursuing new nuclear research Tuesday, rejecting assurances that the work is not a cover for a secret drive to build a nuclear bomb.
Iran told the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Tuesday it planned to resume nuclear fuel research after a 2 1/2-year hiatus, a vague declaration that was taken in the West as fresh evidence Tehran was trying to build an atomic weapon.
"We strongly oppose Iran proceeding with any further enrichment-related activities," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
"Our view is that if Iran takes any further enrichment-related steps, the international community will have to consider additional measures to constrain Iran's nuclear ambitions," McCormack said.
McCormack would not specify what action the United States would like to see, but reiterated the U.S. view that Iran will eventually be hauled before the U.N. Security Council if it will not back down. The council can impose harsh economic sanctions.
"Iran is trying to pursue &to=http://english.pravda.ru/world/20/91/366/16549_Iran.html' target=_blank>nuclear weapons under the cover of a peaceful nuclear program," McCormack said, in one of the most direct accusations the United States has made. "We don't think that that should be allowed to happen."
Iran's Atomic Energy Organization was not specific about what research or development activities it will undertake, but said the work will be unrelated to nuclear fuel production.
Iran voluntarily suspended some nuclear activities last year while negotiating with European countries over ways to develop peaceful civilian nuclear energy while assuring that the technology not be used to make weapons. Tehran resumed some work after walking away from the talks last summer.
At issue is how far Iran may go in the complicated process of enriching uranium, a component of both nuclear energy and weaponry. Iran has said it remains determined, at some point, to resume uranium enrichment. Tehran says its nuclear program is for electricity generation.
"In terms of trying to draw a line around something being pure research with respect to enrichment activities is not something that we're going to buy, and I don't think the international community will either," McCormack said.
In Vienna, the head of the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed Elbaradei, said it was important that Tehran "maintains its suspension of all enrichment-related activity" as a way of reducing international suspicions about its nuclear plans, reports AP.
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