Iranian officials announced on Wednesday that they had received permission to remove UN seals from Iran's uranium processing plan in Isfahan allowing Iran to proceed with plans to renew its nuclear works.
The UN atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) supervised the removal of the seals and install surveillance cameras in the Isfahan facilities.
Under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which Iran has signed, Iran is permitted to pursue a nuclear program so long as it can prove that its purpose is non-military. Surveillance cameras at Iran nuclear facilities will ostensibly serve this purpose.
Last November, the IAEA sealed off sections of the nuclear plant following discoveries that Iran had concealed nuclear work it had been involved in.
The European Union's three main powers however have tried to convince members of IAEA to that Iran should cease all nuclear activity.
On Tuesday, The IAEA met for an emergency session to discuss Iran's defiant stance regarding development of its nuclear program. The meeting, held in Vienna, came on the heels of Iran's decision to renew work on its uranium plant.
Iranian official have repeatedly stressed that the purpose of its nuclear program is to meet the energy needs of its public, and not for military purposes as many in the Unites States and Europe fear.
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed hope to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan regarding the current standoff between his country and the West, saying that he was willing to continue negotiations with the EU, according to Al Jezeera.
Despite the words of optimism on the part of Ahmadinejad, the stalemate was still evident. "We no longer accept being left out in the cold to wait for the Europeans to come up with a plausible basis for a solution" stated Sirus Naseri, chief Iranian delegate to the IAEA.
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Iran had suspended its nuclear program in 2004 following an agreement with the EU at that time.
© 2005 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
