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Iranian president outlines proposals for UN

23 Mar 2007 22:24:28 GMT
Source: Reuters

PARIS, March 23 (Reuters) - Iran, seeking to avert new U.N. sanctions, said it would make proposals to the U.N. Security Council which will include a previous suggestion that Europeans invest in the nuclear industry.

"In the past we have made some good proposals to the Europeans. They did not give the necessary attention to this affair. We proposed the creation of a consortium. We invited the Europeans to join our programmes, for fuel production in Iran," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in comments aired on Friday.

"Maybe they thought that with the propaganda we would back down ... But we have not backed down and we will not back down. Now there will be this proposal and there will be other proposals," he said on French television channel France 24.

Iran's U.N. ambassador said later Ahmadinejad had cancelled a planned trip to address the U.N. Security Council before it votes on imposing new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme, because of delays in granting visas to his entourage.

The ambassador said the foreign minister was still trying to get to New York on time for the meeting, expected on Saturday.

Asked about a consortium that would allow the nuclear programme to be managed under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency at the United Nations, Ahmadinejad said:

"In the past there was this proposal. I will bring that up again." The interview was done in Tehran and translated into French. France 24 did not say when it was recorded.

Iran suggested last year that France could invest in Iran's nuclear industry, enabling it to supervise Tehran's work.

Similar plans for foreign investment in the past found no takers. The West has opposed proposals that would keep uranium enrichment in Iran and allow it to master the technology, which it fears could be used by Tehran to make nuclear weapons.

Iran, the world's fourth largest oil exporter, says its nuclear programme is only aimed at generating electricity.

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Last updated:Fri Mar 23 22:24:47 2007