Iran refuses to suspend atomic work but wants talks

TEHRAN - Iran insisted on Sunday that it would not suspend sensitive atomic work despite signs that world powers were close to agreeing on sanctions against Tehran.

"We believe that suspension is totally rejected and is unacceptable," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said.

Some media reports had suggested Iran may be prepared to freeze atomic fuel manufacturing work for 90 days to allow direct negotiations with the United States and other major world powers to take place.

But Hosseini dismissed the reports. "It [the temporary suspension] has never been part of our policy and it will not be part of it."

Iran says its nuclear programme will be used only for peaceful purposes and not, as the United States alleges, to make atomic weapons.

The United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany agreed in London on Friday to discuss possible UN Security Council sanctions to punish Iran for failing to heed demands to halt uranium enrichment.

Iran says it wants to master uranium enrichment to make nuclear reactor fuel for electricity generation. But the same process can also be used to make bomb-grade fuel.

"Using the language of threats and force against Iran will have no results," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted by Iran's Fars News Agency as saying.

"Iran is interested in dialogue and talks to resolve its nuclear issue," the president said.

Western diplomats say Iran has been pushing for more talks as a stalling tactic, in order to avoid taking action.

While Washington, backed by Britain, is lobbying hard for sanctions, Russia and China have opposed this route and emphasised dialogue over punishment.

Political directors from the six powers involved in Iran's case are due to hold talks again on Tuesday or Wednesday and their UN ambassadors are expected to begin discussing a sanctions resolution the following day.

Any sanctions are likely to be limited and targeted at first, focusing on measures against its nuclear industry.

US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns has said sanctions could influence Iran's behaviour.

"The Iranians are not like the North Koreans," Burns told the BBC in an interview aired on Saturday.

"They don't want to live isolated in the world ... They are concerned about it, and that is a good thing. It means that we have their attention, and it means the cost of their illegal activities is now going to rise substantially," he said.

Asked about North Korean threats to conduct a nuclear test, Hosseini said:

"We have always said we want a world without nuclear weapons ... and we hope this issue of the nuclear activities of North Korea is resolved through talks in a way that is in the interests of the international community and the North Korean people."

- REUTERS