Tehran – Iran announced Sunday it was partially suspending cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, citing the “illegal and bullying” U.N. Security Council sanctions imposed on the country for its refusal to stop enriching uranium.
Gholam Hossein Elham, a government spokesman, told state television that the suspension would “continue until Iran’s nuclear case is referred back to the IAEA from the U.N Security Council.”
In New York, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran has repeatedly sought negotiations with the powers that drafted the resolution against the Islamic republic: the five permanent council members – the U.S., Britain, France, Russia and China – and Germany. But he accused those countries of lacking the political will to reach a breakthrough.
“If this political will existed, the other side wouldn’t have imposed preconditions on the talks,” Mottaki said, referring to demands by the U.S. and its allies that Iran first halt enrichment before they engage in negotiations on its nuclear program.
He said the world has two options to proceed on the nuclear issue: continued negotiations or confrontation.
