Thursday 20 May 2010

OIC Backs Iran Nuclear Declaration

20/05/2010 The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has backed an Iranian declaration which aims to end a standoff over Tehran's nuclear program.

A statement at the end of the 37th OIC ministerial meeting in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe voiced support for the declaration under which Iran agreed to send 1,200 kg of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for 120 kg of higher-enriched uranium, IRNA reported.

The declaration followed three-way talks between Iran, Brazil and Turkey in Tehran in an effort to settle an ongoing dispute over Iran's enrichment program, while supplying Iran with the nuclear fuel it needs for medical purposes.

OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said in a press conference after the two-day OIC summit that "OIC members welcomed the nuclear swap agreement. As the OIC, we have extended support to the agreement."

"We request from relevant international organizations to extend support to this nuclear swap agreement."

Ihsanoglu expressed hope that the declaration would create "a suitable atmosphere for further agreements in this regard and prevent unfavorable acts."

Ignoring Iran's gesture of goodwill, the US president has hailed an anti-Iran UN Security Council (UNSC) draft resolution, ignoring Tehran's recent declaration on a nuclear fuel swap deal in Turkey.

"I am pleased that we have reached an agreement with our P5-plus-one partners on a strong resolution that we now have shared with our Security Council partners," President Barack Obama said in a joint press conference on Wednesday with his Mexican counterpart Felipe Calderon.

Obama said that Iran should "uphold its international obligations or face increased sanctions and pressure including UN sanctions."

A day after Iran made the announcement; US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claimed that the six powers had "reached agreement on a strong draft with the cooperation of Russia and China."

The P5+1 comprises of the five veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council - Britain, China, France, Russia and the US - plus Germany.

Clinton's claim came after Russian, Chinese and UN officials welcomed Tehran's declaration on the nuclear swap in Turkey as a positive development.

The new draft resolution, details of which were made public on Wednesday, calls on Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activities or face further UN Security Council sanctions.

The draft, if approved, will ban countries from selling new categories of heavy weaponry to Iran and will impose restrictions on the country's banking sector.

The US says it is still "seriously concerned" about the Iranian nuclear program and would continue to push for more UNSC sanctions.

The US insistence on anti-Iran sanctions are widely reported to be influenced by powerful pro-Israeli groups in the US. Obama met Wednesday with a group of Jewish Congressmen to pledge his commitment to push through the sanctions resolution in the UNSC.

Iran says any punitive measure against its nuclear work would be legally baseless and unfair as the country's nuclear program is being fully monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency.


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