Report: Russia concerned over Iran's nuclear plans

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday that Moscow was concerned over Iran's plans to expand its nuclear activities, and called on the country to fully cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, news agencies reported. Lavrov said that if the Iranian leadership did not clear up outstanding questions regarding its nuclear program - which Western countries fear is aimed at developing weapons - then Moscow would be within its rights to work further within the UN Security Council. "We would like every blank spot uncovered by the IAEA (the International Atomic Energy Agency) in the Iranian nuclear program to be clarified," Lavrov was quoted by the ITAR-Tass and RIA-Novosti news agencies as telling Russian reporters on a flight back from Vietnam. The foreign minister said that Russia remained opposed to tough sanctions against Iran, but his comments appeared to indicate impatience with Iran's refusal of an international package of incentives to give up sensitive uranium enrichment.