TEHRAN, 24 October 2004 — Conservative MPs in Iran yesterday denounced Europe’s call for Iran to halt all uranium enrichment activities if it wants to avoid the threat of UN sanctions over its nuclear activities. “The European proposal is an excessive demand that is contrary to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and unacceptable,” Alaeddin Brujerdi, the influential head of Parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, told the conservative newspaper Ressalat.
Britain, France and Germany presented Iran with a deal Thursday aimed at avoiding possible sanctions under which Tehran would receive valuable nuclear technology if it indefinitely suspended all uranium enrichment activities, according to a document prepared by the Europeans. But Brujerdi also raised the possibility that the conservative-controlled parliament could pass a bill forcing Iran to halt its suspension of uranium enrichment in defiance of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“The European offer is a denial of the Iranian nation’s legal rights bestowed under the NPT,” Brujerdi said. “The Islamic republic of Iran will not accept a (Western) monopoly on nuclear technology and will pursue its activities with determination.”
Thursday’s meeting was to give Iran a last chance to disclose its complete nuclear program before the IAEA decides on November 25 whether Iran is cooperating with it on Tehran’s nuclear activities. The United States wants the IAEA, which since February 2003 has been investigating US claims that Iran has a covert nuclear weapons program, to refer Tehran to the UN Security Council, which could impose sanctions.
