Iran rejects European threat of UN sanctions, says won’t stop uranium conversion

TEHERAN –AP- Iran said on Sunday that it won’t stop uranium reprocessing work, rejecting a European threat that Tehran had less than two weeks to freeze uranium conversion or face referral to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.

Iran resumed uranium-reprocessing activities at its Uranium Conversion Facility in Isfahan in central Iran last month. The facility converts uranium concentrate ore, known as yellowcake, into uranium hexaflouride gas, the feedstock for enrichment.

In the next stage, Iran could feed the gas into centrifuges used to enrich uranium at its uranium enrichment plant in Natanz, also in central Iran. Iran says it won’t restart uranium enrichment for now in Natanz, where it was suspended in 2003 under a deal with Europeans, but insists it will never again suspend uranium conversion in Isfahan.

Uranium enriched to low level is used to produce nuclear fuel used to generate electricity but further enrichment makes it suitable for use in nuclear weapons.

The United States accuses Iran of using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to secretly produce nuclear weapons. Iran has rejected the charges saying its nuclear program is geared merely towards generating electricity, not a bomb.

Iran restarted work in Isfahan after it rejected a European package of proposals that had called on Iran to permanently stop its uranium enrichment program in return for a supply of nuclear fuel and economic incentives.

Teheran said the proposals were against the spirit of NPT and against previous agreements between Iran and the Europeans, which had recognized Iran’s right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.