Iran issue: Military measures unhelpful
By Qin Jize (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-04-13 05:43
Military and economic measures would be counter-productive in dealing with
Iran's nuclear programme, China's envoy to the United Nations has said, and
urged a diplomatic solution to the standoff.
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| International
Atomic Eenergy Agency Director General Mohammed Elbaradei speaks with
journalists in Tehran, Iran April 12, 2006. Elbaradei said on Thursday he
wanted Iran to suspend uranium enrichment and hoped parties in the nuclear
dispute would return to talks. [Reuters] |
| "We still believe that negotiations and a diplomatic solution are the best
way out," Wang Guangya said in New York on Tuesday.
Wang, also the current president of the UN Security Council, reiterated that
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the best place to discuss the
issue; and hoped the visit to Iran by IAEA chief Mohammed ElBaradei would
achieve results.
Iran announced late on Tuesday that it had enriched uranium in defiance of a
UN call to halt nuclear activity that the West believes is part of a drive to
build atomic bombs.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran had enriched uranium for the
first time and would press ahead with industrial-scale enrichment "based on
international regulations."
In a televised address, Ahmadinejad said: "I am officially announcing that
Iran has joined the group of those countries which have nuclear technology. This
is the result of the Iranian nation's resistance."
In response, the United States said that if Iran continued moving in the
"wrong direction" it would discuss the next steps with the UN Security Council,
which can impose sanctions.
Russia, which has opposed UN sanctions against Iran, echoed the US demand
that Teheran halt enrichment activities.
"It goes counter to the decisions of the IAEA and the statement of the UN
Security Council," Russia's Itar-Tass news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry
spokesman as saying of Iran's announcement. He urged Iran to stop all uranium
enrichment work, including research.
The European Union added its voice to concerns over Ahmadinejad's statement,
saying it is "regrettable."
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