Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 15 / Trend T.Konyayeva/
The successful development of Iran's nuclear high technology leaves no doubt as to the nature of Iran's nuclear program, President of the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies Yevgeny Satanovsky said. The Islamic Republic intends to develop nuclear weapons, he added.
"No one has doubts regarding the nature of Iran's nuclear program, any longer, except European and Russian diplomats and politicians, whose cautious in their statements is the essence of their profession,"Satanovsky wrote Trend in an e-mail. "Iran is making nuclear weapons and will do it."
On Thursday, Iranian Representative to the IAEA Ali Askar Soltaniyeh said if uranium rods manufactured in Iran will be installed at the Tehran Research Reactor, then the negotiations on the nuclear fuel exchange would be stopped.
Late last week, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Head Ali Akbar Salehi said that plant in Isfahan is able to produce rods of enriched uranium that used as fuel in nuclear reactors.
The tripartite agreement on the exchange of uranium was reached May 17 between Iran, Turkey and Brazil. The foreign ministers of these countries signed a draft agreement for the exchange of Tehran's low-enriched uranium (up to 3.5 percent) for highly enriched uranium (up to 20 percent) for the Tehran research reactor. According to the document, the exchange will be made on Turkish territory. But the West did not agree to accept this agreement.
Satanovsky said Iran successfully develops high-tech and "there is nothing impossible for Iran in principle in the production of rods for the reactor."
"The question of timing is a bit more speculative," he said. "The country will need a year or longer. It is difficult to say, but, remembering the date if the commissioning of the first nuclear reactors in the Soviet Union, there is nothing impossible in this."
Tehran constantly gains time to complete its nuclear program and does it with great success, Satanovsky said.
"Failure of the" Six "in negotiations with Iran is clear to all, except members of this very international club," he said.
Another round of talks on the Iranian nuclear issue ended in Geneva on Dec.6-7. Deputy foreign ministers of Russia, the United States, Great Britain, China, France, Germany and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton attended the talks.
The result of talks was an agreement to continue the consultations in late January in Istanbul.
The negotiating process was broken in 2009 when the IAEA Board of Governors condemned Iran for building the second plant to enrich uranium and called on Tehran to confirm that no decisions were made on the construction of other nuclear facilities, not declared by the agency.
The Iranian nuclear program has caused concern since 2003, when the IAEA became aware of its secret activities. In late 2003, Iran signed the Additional Protocol to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and voluntarily announced the suspension of uranium enrichment. However, it later returned to these activities.
The enriched uranium can be used to produce nuclear weapons. However, it is necessary as fuel for atomic power plants. Several countries, including the U.S., are sure that Iran strives to develop nuclear weapons and call for the prevention of this development. Tehran has denied all charges, saying that its nuclear program has peaceful purposes.