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Powers wield sanction threat after Iran stalemate
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-07-20 10:17 Those political and economic sanctions already target the country's banks and include visa bans on officials and measures against companies seen as linked to the nuclear programme.
Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, rejects suspicions that it wants the atom bomb and says its nuclear programme is intended to generate electricity. Asked if Tehran would consider a demand to suspend enrichment as a precondition for full negotiations on its nuclear programme, Saeed Jalili said: "We will only discuss common points of the package." In a bid to kickstart those negotiations, world powers have also proposed that Tehran first freeze expansion of its nuclear programme in return for the UN Security Council halting further sanctions measures. But a senior Iranian diplomat ruled that out too. "Of course we will not discuss the freeze-for-freeze topic in the next meeting with Solana ... The freeze-for-freeze issue cannot be accepted because this (enrichment) is our right and we will never abandon our nuclear right. The high-level US participation in the meeting, together with Iranian comments playing down the likelihood of an attack by the United States or Israel, had earlier in the week raised hopes of progress and helped lower oil prices from record highs. Yet that optimism was tempered even before the meeting as both the United States and Iran insisted their policy would not change. |
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