Iran Restarts Uranium Program

Iranian officials Tuesday also said they would end voluntary compliance with an addendum to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that allows IAEA inspectors access to any nuclear facility within two hours of their request. It also grants the IAEA greater access to certain documentation and information about Iran's nuclear program.

"We are in the transition state and the inspectors will work under the NPT," Mohammad Saeedi, deputy of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, said on state television, referring to the treaty. "We will not do anything beyond our commitments to the NPT."

Western diplomats in Vienna said Iran's refusal to comply with the additional voluntary agreements will impede the IAEA's ability to monitor Iranian activities. "It is very difficult for us to provide assurance that there is no parallel or secret program happening," one diplomat said.

Iranian officials describe their decision to move ahead with uranium enrichment as an act of independence in the face of criticism and mistrust on the part of the United States and other Western countries, which Iran accuses of trying to hobble its efforts to produce nuclear energy.

Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel, Iran's parliament speaker, said during a visit Tuesday to Caracas, Venezuela, that U.S. opposition to Iran's nuclear program was "only a pretext."

He added, "They are worried that we want to be independent."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated in a televised speech Saturday that Iran was trying to develop nuclear technology for fuel in the face of dwindling oil supplies.

"We ask them why they are against our nuclear technology," Ahmadinejad said in the speech. "They answer: Because they do not trust us."

He warned the Iranian people to brace for possible economic sanctions in the coming months.

The Security Council has not indicated a course of action it might take against Iran. The United States and Europe have been pushing hardest for some type of strong political retribution, while Iran's allies and major trading partners, including Russia and China, are wary of the intentions of the Western governments.

Russia, which has invested about $1 billion in constructing an Iranian nuclear facility, has attempted to act as broker, offering to enrich uranium in Russia and turn the product over to Iran.

Ahmadinejad scoffed at the proposal in his speech Saturday, telling his Tehran audience, "They say that they will produce the fuel somewhere else and then they will hand it over to us.

"We say, what a surprise!" he continued. "Do you expect us to be stupid enough to believe you?"

Iranian officials have scheduled a meeting with Russian authorities on Feb. 20 to discuss the proposal.