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Iran welcomes foreign investment in nuclear sector

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"We are ready for cooperation and joint investment [in the nuclear sphere], but that has nothing to do with Iran's nuclear fuel cycle," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said.
TEHRAN, October 5 (RIA Novosti) - Iran would welcome foreign investment in its nuclear industry, but will not abandon its uranium enrichment program, the Islamic Republic's president said Friday.

"We are ready for cooperation and joint investment [in the nuclear sphere], but that has nothing to do with Iran's nuclear fuel cycle," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said.

He said Iran's right to pursue nuclear energy programs is non-negotiable.

"We do not intend to discuss our rights in the nuclear energy sphere," he said.

The president said world powers have deliberately politicized Iran's nuclear problem in order to impede its scientific and technological advance.

Ahmadinejad said Thursday no force in the world can halt Iran's nuclear progress.

"Our enemies are in no position to harm the cause of the [Islamic] revolution," he said, adding that "some enemies" are trying to weaken the country's economy with trade and economic sanctions.

But Iran is prepared to overcome all difficulties, and nothing will prevent its triumph, he said.

The chief of the UN nuclear watchdog said Thursday that the international community should give Iran more time to prove that its nuclear program is peaceful.

"This situation, which might continue for two or three months, is an investment in peace," Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in an interview with the Egyptian daily al-Ahram.

On Wednesday, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he plans to meet with the head of Iran's Security Council, Ali Larijani, in the near future.

Speaking to EU lawmakers at the European Parliament, Solana said it was necessary to send Iran a positive signal. He reiterated his hope that the dispute over Iran's nuclear issue could be resolved by diplomatic means.

In mid-September the six countries involved in talks to persuade Iran to drop uranium enrichment delayed a vote on a new set of sanctions against the Islamic Republic until November. The vote was postponed pending reports from the IAEA and Solana.

The six nations involved in talks are the five permanent Security Council members: China, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom and France plus Germany.

The U.S. and France have urged tougher penalties for Iran, which is suspected of pursuing a covert nuclear weapons program. Tehran insists it needs its own nuclear fuel for power generation and wants to be independent from foreign supplies.

Iran has defied three consecutive UN resolutions against its nuclear program since last year and has called two previously-imposed rounds of sanctions illegal.

However, since early-summer talks between Larijani and ElBaradei, Tehran has allowed two inspections of its 40-MW heavy water nuclear reactor in Arak, potentially capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium. Permission was given despite Iran's refusal to grant access to the site following the second set of sanctions in March.

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