IRAN: Iran, suspected by Washington of covertly working on an atomic bomb, said yesterday it would suspend its disputed uranium enrichment programme in the coming days, a promise first made last month but yet to be fulfilled.
"Iran will announce and consequently suspend its uranium enrichment in the coming days," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mr Hamid Reza Asefi.
Tehran pledged on Saturday to give the UN nuclear watchdog letters next week making official its acceptance of tougher nuclear inspections and a suspension of its uranium enrichment programme, but said nothing about the timing of the suspension.
Diplomats in Vienna, where the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is located, have said they were losing patience with Iran for stalling the suspension of uranium enrichment activities, which Washington believes are at the heart of a secret atomic weapons programme.
On October 21st Iranian officials told the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain that Tehran would not only sign the additional protocol permitting tougher UN inspections, but would temporarily stop enriching uranium to build confidence.
The IAEA board of governors had requested this suspension twice, first in June and again in a tough September 12th resolution that set an October 31st deadline for Iran to give the IAEA a full declaration of all nuclear activities.
Enrichment is a process of purifying uranium to make it usable as nuclear fuel or in weapons.
Although it was assumed the suspension would take place immediately, it did not. There was disagreement on what the suspension should entail.
The French, Germans and British wanted all enrichment operations halted, whereas Iran wanted only to halt its enrichment centrifuges and continue research work.
But on Saturday IAEA chief Mr Mohamed ElBaradei said Iran had agreed to a "suspension of all enrichment-related activities", which clearly implies more than simply shutting down enrichment centrifuges, but includes related research and development work. - (Reuters)
About 500 Tehran University students, often the public face of Iran's battered reform movement, gathered yesterday to protest against the detention of political prisoners.
The students made speeches, linked hands and sang anthems on the first anniversary of the death sentence handed down to dissident Hashem Aghajari after he told Muslims not to follow Iran's clerical leadership "like monkeys".