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EU urges renewed nuclear dialogue after Iran vote

Other News Materials 14 June 2009 05:52 (UTC +04:00)

The European Union expressed concern about alleged irregularities in Iran's presidential election on Saturday, but said it hoped to resume dialogue with Tehran over its disputed nuclear program, Reuters reported.

In a statement, the Czech EU presidency noted the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a second four-year term and also said it was concerned about violence that erupted after the official results were announced.

Iran's Interior Ministry said Ahmadinejad won 62.6 percent of the vote, against 33.7 percent for reformist candidate Mirhossein Mousavi, who branded the results a "dangerous charade" that would "establish tyranny."

"The presidency hopes that the outcome of the presidential elections will bring the opportunity to resume dialogue on the nuclear issue and clear up the Iranian position in this regard," the EU presidency statement said.

"The presidency expects the new government of the Islamic Republic of Iran will take its responsibility toward the international community and respect its international obligations," it added.

Six major powers, including EU members Britain, France and Germany, have offered Iran a package of economic and other incentives in exchange for which they want Iran to stop enriching uranium, a process that can produce fuel for power plants or, potentially, a nuclear weapon.

Iran denies it aims to build a nuclear bomb, saying it only wants to master enrichment technology to generate electricity and rules out shelving the program, saying that is its right as a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

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