Such a step by Iran would directly contradict the repeated requests by the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors, said a statement released in Berlin.
It also flew in the face of “the binding calls on Iran by the UN Security Council, in Resolutions 1737 and 1747, to suspend all enrichment-related activities,” the statement said.
“The presidency of the European Union once again urges Iran to comply with the demands of the international community and to create the conditions for a return to the negotiating table and for a solution to the conflict surrounding the Iranian nuclear programme,” the statement added.
Iran said that it had started uranium enrichment on an industrial scale at its plant in Natanz – a move some Western nations fear could lead it to developing nuclear weapons.
The international community should have taken tougher action against Iran over the capture of the British service personnel and its nuclear programme, a former senior US diplomat said the next day.
John Bolton, former US ambassador to the United Nations, claimed that the capture of the 15 sailors and Royal Marines was part of a larger effort from Tehran to “project power” in the Middle East.
The capture of the British naval personnel, who were freed by Tehran earlier, was “an experiment to test the UK and European reaction,” Bolton said in a BBC radio interview. “There was not much of a reaction at all,” he said.
“I think that gave credence to the argument of those in Tehran that wanted to talk up the process of getting a nuclear weapons capability,” Bolton added That same day, April 11, after its claim of uranium enrichment on an industrial scale, Iran said it would not accept any talks with the West over its controversial nuclear programmes as long as suspension of uranium enrichment programme remained a precondition.
Iran will have the capacity to build its own nuclear bomb only in four to six years, leaving time for diplomatic efforts to counter the potential threat, a spokeswoman for the International Atomic Energy Agency told German radio.
In a press briefing in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said negotiations should be “serious” and aimed at reaching a mutual settlement while preconditions such as suspension of enrichment would no longer be acceptable for Iran.
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he would support tougher international sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme but opposed military intervention.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store said he was “concerned” over Iran’s decision to continue its uranium enrichment programme.