Iran breaks UN seals on atomic plant

Iran broke UN seals at a uranium processing plant yesterday, escalating a confrontation with Western nations which fear it may develop nuclear weapons.

As Iranian officials reopened sensitive areas of the Isfahan plant in central Iran, Britain, France and Germany struggled in Vienna to rally international pressure for a motion urging Tehran to go back to the voluntary freeze it broke on Monday.

"The removal of seals has been completed. The plant is fully operational now," Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, told Reuters by telephone from Vienna.

Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed the Iranians had removed all seals on machines at Isfahan although she said it had left some on stockpiled nuclear materials.

The UN watchdog put on the seals after Tehran agreed with the European Union's biggest powers to halt all nuclear fuel work last November to ease tensions after the IAEA found Iran had hidden weapons-grade highly enriched uranium.

Iran restarted work at less sensitive areas of the plant on Monday after rejecting economic and political incentives from Britain, France and Germany, known as the EU3, to give up its nuclear programme which Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes.

IAEA officials agreed Tehran's request to remove the seals after installing surveillance cameras to ensure no uranium is shifted away from the plant for any covert weapons work.

Under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which Iran has signed, Tehran may process and enrich uranium for peaceful purposes. But the EU3 say the only way to prove peaceful intentions is to renounce all sensitive technologies.

The German government said Iran had rejected the EU3's incentives after only a "superficial review" and appealed to Tehran to look at the proposals again.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said the European demands were "illogical and arrogant".

"The resumption of activities at Isfahan nuclear plant is a step to protect the nation's rights. Pressures and threats can not make us put our people's rights on auction," Mr Asefi said.

The IAEA board convened an emergency meeting on Tuesday but quickly adjourned to give the trio time to negotiate with other key members of the 35-nation board about the text of an IAEA resolution urging Iran to immediately resume the suspension.

One EU diplomat said the United States, Russia and China and the other Western countries on the IAEA board all supported its toughly worded draft resolution, but developing countries like India, Brazil and others want the language to be less harsh.

"The non-aligned countries want some of the language changed in the draft resolution," the diplomat said. "For example, they want the words 'expresses serious concern' about Iran's actions changed to 'notes' Iran's actions. This is obviously not acceptable to us."

The diplomat said he expected the EU to formally submit the draft resolution to the IAEA yesterday evening for possible approval when the board meets today.

He said the resolution would not refer Iran's case to the UN Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions.

If Iran refused to resume the suspension, however, the board would probably meet early next month and send the matter to the UN council, he said.