Tehran, Iran – Iran said Sunday it will offer a “multifaceted response” Tuesday to a Western package of incentives aimed at persuading Tehran to rein in its nuclear program but insisted it won’t suspend uranium enrichment altogether.
Speaking after Iran’s military test-fired 10 short-range missiles, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said at a news conference that a nuclear compromise would have to be reached during future negotiations.
“Everything has to come out of negotiations,” Asefi said. “Suspension is not on our agenda.”
The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution last month calling for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment by Aug. 31 or face the threat of economic and diplomatic sanctions.
“We have made clear that if Iran fails to comply with the Security Council’s mandate, we will move quickly at the United Nations to impose sanctions,” White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore said Sunday.
Iran, which claims its atomic program has only the peaceful aim of using reactors to generate electricity, has rejected the resolution as “illegal,” saying it has not violated any of its obligations under the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty.
Uranium enrichment produces reactor fuel, but it also can make material for nuclear warheads, and the U.S. and other countries suspect Iran is trying to develop atomic weapons.
Iran’s state-run TV reported the test-firing of 10 surface-to- surface Saegheh missiles Sunday, a day after large-scale military exercises across the country.
