Iran's hard-liners call for uranium enrichment programme to restart

IRANIAN hard-liners yesterday called for an end to nuclear negotiations with European powers and opposed any deal imposing limitations on the country’s nuclear programme.

But Hamid Reza Asefi, the foreign ministry spokesman, said Iran will remain committed to talks with Europeans despite a lack of progress.

Mr Asefi, however, said Iran has decided to resume certain nuclear activities it voluntarily suspended in November, although actual uranium enrichment will remain suspended for now, despite hard-line calls for its resumption.

Enriched uranium can be used to produce warheads, but also to make electricity, which Iranian officials insist is the sole purpose of their nuclear programme. Washington accuses Tehran of trying to build nuclear weapons.

"Iran has taken the necessary steps to build confidence and show transparency," state-run radio quoted Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of the national security and foreign policy committee of the Iranian parliament as saying.

"The time has come to end the voluntary suspension of uranium enrichment," he said. France, Britain and Germany, acting on behalf of the 25-nation European Union, are offering Iran economic incentives in return for guarantees that Tehran will not use its nuclear programme to make weapons. Last month’s Iranian-European talks yielded no results.

State-run radio quoted Mr Boroujerdi, a former deputy foreign minister, as saying continuing talks with the "three European powers will have no outcome other than being a waste of time".

"France, Britain and Germany have shown they don’t have the necessary capacity and powers to reach an understanding with the Islamic Republic of Iran," he added.