Azerbaijan, Baku, March 10 /Trend T.Konyayeva/
The U.K. is concerned over the latest reports about a possible nuclear cooperation between Iran and Zimbabwe, and expects Zimbabwe to continue fulfilling its nuclear obligations under international treaties and resolutions, a British FCO spokesperson said.
"We have noted with concern recent press reports suggesting that Zimbabwe may be willing to supply uranium to Iran," the official wrote Trend in an email. "We would expect the Government of Zimbabwe to abide by its commitments to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and relevant UN Security Council resolutions, including UN Security Council Resolutions 1737 of 2006, 1803 of 2008 and 1929 of 2010."
Early this March some media reports attributed to Zimbabwe's Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi which stated "Zimbabwe is willing to work with Iran on uranium extraction" and called the broad sanctions on Iran "unfair and hypocritical".
"Zimbabwe has rich uranium reserves, but is faced with shortage of funds and does not possess the technical knowledge and equipment needed for extracting [them] ... Any country has the right to use peaceful nuclear energy based on international rules," Mumbengegwi said.
Zimbabwe's uranium stocks consist of an estimated 455,000 tons at Kanyemba, north of Harare.
A leaked intelligence report suggests Iran will be awarded with exclusive access to Zimbabwe's uranium in return for providing the country with fuel. The report said Iran's foreign and cooperative ministers had visited Zimbabwe to strike a deal, and sent engineers to assess uranium deposits.
Zimbabwean officials later denied reports they had signed a deal allowing Iran to mine untapped uranium reserves in the country.
Last year Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe voiced support for Iran's nuclear program.
According to the FCO spokesperson, all adopted resolutions require all states to prohibit investment by Iran in any commercial activity in their territory involving uranium, uranium mining, uranium production or the use of nuclear materials and technologies. "Any infringement of these Resolutions could result in UN penalties."
The State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley on March 8 warned Zimbabwe it could face international penalties if it helped Iran's nuclear program in bypassing US-led sanctions against the Islamic republic.
"The foreign minister of Zimbabwe is entitled to his opinion, but the government of Zimbabwe is still bound by its commitments to the nuclear NPT and relevant UN Security Council resolutions," Crowley told.
Iranian nuclear program has caused concern since 2003, when the IAEA became aware of its concealed activity. In late 2003, Iran signed the Additional Protocol to the NPT and voluntarily announced about the suspension of uranium enrichment. However, it returned to this activity. Iran insists that as a party to the NPT it has the full right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
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 to prevent this development.
Until now, the UN Security Council adopted six resolutions, four of which are aimed at imposing sanctions against Iran, demanding to abandon uranium enrichment, and two resolutions containing warnings.
The UN Security Council resolution 1929 was adopted in the summer of 2010, as well as additional unilateral sanctions were approved by the U.S. Congress and the FMs of all EU countries, which are mainly directed against the banking, financial and energy sectors of Iran.