Iran Nuclear Crisis

Iran

Iran has adamantly reserved the right to develop its nuclear program, stating that its intention is to produce peaceful nuclear energy.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - President

"We have the necessary tools to defend our rights," Ahmadinejad told a news conference on Saturday. "Those who use harsh language against Iran need Iran 10 times more than we need them." (Source: Reuters)

Britain

Britain favors referring Iran to the U.N. Security Council.

Tony Blair - Prime Minister

"Our ideal outcome is a diplomatic solution; this has to mean Iran abides by its international obligations - that is the test," a spokesman for Blair told reporters, news agencies reported. "If Iran wants to come up with a solution that meets that test, it is all well and good." (Source: International Herald Tribune)

France

France favors referring Iran to the U.N. Security Council.

Jacques Chirac -President

Iran and North Korea have a right to use nuclear energy peacefully, for energy. But the international community must ensure that agreements on nuclear security are not trampled on, he said. Chirac said Iran -- along with fellow nuclear suspect North Korea -- "would be committing a serious mistake if they did not take the hand that we are holding out to them". (Source: International Herald Tribune)

Germany

Germany favors referring Iran to the U.N. Security Council.

Angela Merkel - Chancellor

"It is totally unacceptable what Iran has said recently, for example, as regards questioning the right of existence of Israel, the statements that were made with reference to the Holocaust, and it is essential, we feel, that the EU-3, together with the United States, take a common position here," Merkel said. (Source: VOA News)

"We remain in talks about what should be decided there, and what the role of the United Nations should be," Germany's deputy foreign minister, Gernot Erler said. (Source: International Herald Tribune)

Russia

Russia is pursuing a compromise wherein it would produce enriched uranium for Iran, to ensure the material could be used only for peaceful purposes.

Vladimir Putin - President

"As for Russia and our European partners and the United States - we have very close positions on the Iranian problem," Putin said after a summit in Moscow with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel. But the Russian leader urged caution. "We must work on the Iranian problem very carefully, not allowing abrupt, erroneous steps," he said. (Source: The Telegraph)

"The main problems is the uranium enrichment. We have proposed that our Iranian partners establish a joint enterprise on uranium enrichment on Russian territory and we hear various points of view from our Iranian partners. One of the points voiced by their Foreign Ministry said Tehran did not rule out the realization of our proposal," Putin said. (Source: The Moscow News)

Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, made clear that Iran must shut down the nuclear research program it just reopened before any meaningful negotiations with Europe can resume. (Source: International Herald Tribune)

China

China is against Iran's nuclear program, but does not yet favor a Security Council resolution.

Hu Jintao - President

From a press conference held by Foreign Ministry Spokesman Kong Quan: "All parties are much concerned about the Iranian nuclear issue. Since the very beginning, China has made effort in its own way to actively promote the proper solution of the issue."

"We believe that the Iranian nuclear issue should be resolved within the framework of IAEA. In the current context, the most feasible approach is still the negotiation between the three EU countries and Iran. For this reason, we are much supportive of carrying on the negotiation. Iran and the EU expect further positive role of China. We have taken note of this wish, and stayed in close contact with all parties concerned, so as to translate our joint effort into real outcome, that is to say, to relaunch the negotiation between the EU and Iran and strive for progress." (Source: Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

International Atomic Energy Agency

The IAEA, in its third year of an investigation of Iran's nuclear program, has not found proof of a weapons program. But a final conclusion is impossible, IAEA officials have said, until the Iranian government provides full access to several sites as well as answers to outstanding questions about the history of the nuclear effort.

Mohammed ElBaradei - Director General

"We are coming to the litmus test in the next few weeks," ElBaradei said in an interview in Newsweek magazine. "Diplomacy has to be backed by pressure and, in extreme cases, by force," he maintained. "We have rules. We have to do everything possible to uphold the rules through conviction. If not, then you impose them. Of course, this has to be the last resort, but sometimes you have to do it."

He gave Iran seven weeks to answer the IAEA's outstanding questions - including intelligence reports of secret work on nuclear warheads. If Iran did not comply by March 6, Mr ElBaradei said he would formally declare that his investigation had reached a dead end. (Source: The Telegraph)