There is no hard proof that Iran is working on nuclear weapons, but
Tehran has to clarify several key issues on its nuclear program to avoid fresh
international action, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.
Iran
's
recent move to begin enriching uranium to 20% sparked a new wave of
international criticism, with the
U.S.
leading calls for new harsher sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Western powers suspect that
Iran
's
nuclear program is aimed at making weapons, while
Tehran
claims it needs
enriched uranium for civilian energy purposes.
"There is no evidence that
Iran
has made a decision to produce nuclear weapons," Lavrov said in an
interview with RIA Novosti.
He added that
Iran
had failed to properly cooperate with international organizations over
concerns about its nuclear program and said that if the situation persists
"I cannot rule out that the UN Security Council will have to consider the
situation once again."
Lavrov also said that sanctions were unlikely to be effective.
"If we go with the sanctions, we'll not go beyond the goal of our
purpose of defending the nonproliferation regime. We don't want the
nonproliferation regime to be used for ... strangling
Iran
,
or taking some steps to deteriorate the situation [and] the living standards of
people in
Iran
," he said.
Lavrov acknowledged
Iran
's
right to carry out nuclear activities, but urged the country to respect its
international responsibilities and answer all the questions posed by the
International Atomic Energy Agency.
He assured reporters that the UN nuclear watchdog continued to monitor
Iran
's
nuclear activities, including the Islamic country's recent uranium enrichment
program.
"Of course, the agency also reports traditionally that it cannot be
100% sure that
Iran
does not have some secret nuclear activities," Lavrov said.
He also called on
Iran
to cooperate with the IAEA.
Iran
has already rejected an IAEA plan under which the Islamic Republic was to ship
out its low-enriched uranium to
Russia
for further enrichment and subsequently send it to
France
for processing into fuel rods.
Tehran
has suggested it
could consider a swap of its low-enriched uranium for 20%-enriched uranium, but
that the exchange should be simultaneous and would have to take place on its
own territory.
(from
Ria Novosti)