Iran refuses to stop enriching uranium

Teheran: Nuclear development is Iran's "indisputable right;" accuses Israel, US of destabilizing Lebanon.

Hosseini 224.88 (photo credit: AP)
Hosseini 224.88
(photo credit: AP)
Iran won't consider any proposals in talks with the West that would require it to stop enriching uranium, said the country's foreign minister Sunday. "No incentive weighs equally with the rights of Iranian nation," said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini. He also told reporters in Teheran that uranium enrichment is an "indisputable right" for Iran. Last week, the US and other world powers offered Iran a package of incentives in an attempt to lure Teheran back into negotiations over its disputed nuclear program. Iran is already under three sets of UN Security Council sanctions for its refusal to freeze uranium enrichment. Washington and its allies accuse Teheran of trying to make nuclear weapons but Iran denies the charge. Also Sunday, Hosseini accused the US and Israel of using all their "tools and capabilities" to destabilize Lebanon. Both countries accuse Iran of arming Hizbullah, but Iran says its support for the Lebanese guerrilla group is only political.