Sensitive points added to Iran´s nuclear issue

Source: People Daily | 03-19-2009 16:34

The first nuclear power plant in the Gulf seaport of Bushehr that Russia has been under contract to build is expected to put into operation by the end of the upcoming summer, and its operation does not pose a proliferation threat, said Sergey Novikov, secretary of Russia's atomic energy agency on March 16.

As far as the Bushehr plant is concerned, Russia will provide all the fuel it needs for the duration of its entire lifespan, and Russia and Iran, keen to ease U.S. concerns over their nuclear ties, signed a special deal requiring Tehran to recover and return all the nuclear waste from the reactor to Moscow, Novikov told reporters from the "Voice of Russia" radio station in a recent interview.

The United States and other Western nations have repeatedly claimed in recent years that Iran has gone in for the development of nuclear weapons secretly under the camouflage of a civilian nuclear power program it is pursuing. And Iran, however, gave a definite, flat denial.

The game between the U.S. and Iran centered on nuclear issue has been deemed as a "fast knot" in bilateral relations. US President Barack Obama, however, said repeatedly before his inauguration in late January that he would review U.S. policy toward Iran and resort to the stance of relying mainly on dialogue to resolve conflicts between them. Meanwhile, U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton also asserted that the U.S. is ready to hold direct talks with Iran as long as the latter has sincerity.

Nevertheless, President Obama has extended a section of US sanctions against Iran for at least another year, since its policy and moves "pose a serious threat to the U.S. national security and interests," Obama said in a letter he addressed to U.S. Congress on March 12. Public opinions hold that the "fast knot" relating to Iran's nuclear issue not yet to untie is one of the reasons for the extension of U.S. sanctions against Iran.