WASHINGTON — Iran won’t stop enriching uranium and has a right to pursue atomic technology, the country’s foreign minister told U.N. Security Council diplomats at a private dinner.
A U.S. official familiar with Thursday night’s meeting in New York told The Associated Press that Manouchehr Mottaki was defiant in the face of demands that Iran halt the process that can produce fuel for a nuclear weapon.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said talks at the Iranian-hosted event made no progress in resolving the nuclear dispute.
That assessment was echoed by State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, who told reporters that the discussion at the meeting had been “a frank and professional exchange” but “yet another missed opportunity by Iran to meet its international obligations.”
Mottaki invited diplomats from all 15 members of the Security Council to the two-hour dinner in what was seen as Iran’s latest attempt to head off additional penalties over its nuclear program.
Western diplomats said it was a rare move. The Obama administration sent its deputy U.N. ambassador, Alejandro Wolff, to the meeting. For the U.S. and Iran, which do not have diplomatic relations, it was one of the highest-ranking contacts in recent years.
On Friday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton joined a conference call with senior officials from Britain, France, Germany and the European Union to go over details of the possible new sanctions. Crowley said that work on a new sanctions resolution continued and that the U.S. hoped to move forward with it “in the coming weeks.”
