- (AFP) - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
said that it was essential for the Islamic republic to master the nuclear
fuel cycle, but again denied the country was seeking to develop nuclear
weapons.
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- "It is essential because if the Iranian people cannot"
produce their own nuclear fuel, "they will be dependent on outside
sources and if these countries decide not to supply us, our stations will
be useless," Khamenei said Monday in a speech carried on state television.
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- The all-powerful leader, however, did not say when Iran
would resume enriching uranium, an activity that is currently suspended
in line with demands from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
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- The IAEA is investigating Iran's bid to generate atomic
energy, which the United States says is merely a cover for a weapons programme.
Iran denies the charge.
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- The question of the nuclear fuel cycle is a serious concern
at the IAEA, which fears it could eventually be used for military purposes.
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- Khamenei repeated the regime's assertions that this was
not a risk.
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- "Iran is not trying to make an atomic bomb, because
it does not need this to unravel its enemies," he said, employing
a term commonly used to refer to the United States and Israel.
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- "It is by relying on faith, determination and unity
that the peope can defeat their enemies," said Khamenei, who has the
final word on all matters of state.
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- On Friday, the IAEA passed a British-French-German sponsored
resolution that strongly criticised Iran for failing to cooperate enough
with UN inspectors and calling for the probe to be stepped up and concluded
within a few months.
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- The renewed pressure has sparked many officials here
to call for a revision of ties with the IAEA, the international body charged
with overseeing the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
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- "If the Europeans are in fact worried that we could
have a nuclear weapon, we will reassure them: no, we do not want to have
such weapons," Khamenei said.
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- "But if it bothers them that Iran masters nuclear
technology and that this technology is home-grown, and if they want to
oppose this, we say to them that the Iranian people will never accept the
language of force," he added.
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- The US holds that Iran, OPEC's number-two exporter and
world number two for natural gas reserves, does not need nuclear energy.
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- Khamenei replied to this, saying "our enemies want
our oil to run out so that we will be dependent on them."
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- Russia is currently helping Iran build its first nuclear
power plant at the southern city of Bushehr, but Moscow and Tehran have
yet to agree on a fuel supply deal.
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- In the meantime, Iran has been pressing on with mastering
the entire nuclear fuel cycle itself, a programme that is technically permitted
by the NPT.
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