Iran Demands Pakistan Head Explain Remarks
Associated Press
Date: 05-29-05
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran demanded an explanation Sunday from Pakistan over a purported comment by President Pervez Musharraf that Tehran was "very anxious" to develop nuclear weapons.
In an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel news weekly published Saturday, Musharraf was asked how Iran could be dissuaded from trying to make a nuclear weapon.
"I don't know. They are very anxious to have the bomb," he was quoted as responding.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters Sunday it was unlikely Musharraf made the comment, but called for an explanation from Islamabad.
"Mr. Musharraf knows better than anybody else that the Islamic Republic of Iran is not after nuclear weapons," he said.
Asefi insisted that Iran was not seeking atomic weapons and said it was not Pakistan's business to make such comments.
Musharraf's reported comments are of particular interest because of involvement by the father of Pakistan's atomic bomb, Abdul Qadeer Khan, in providing Iran with centrifuges, a device used to enrich uranhium _uranium if enriched enough can be used to make a nuclear weapon.
The German news weekly also quoted Musharraf as saying a pre-emptive attack by the United States against Iran would be "a disaster."
In early 2004, Iran confirmed for the first time that it had bought nuclear equipment from middlemen on the Asian subcontinent, lending credence to reports that detailed black-market nuclear deals between Khan and Iran.
Khan has admitted selling nuclear technology and know-how to Iran, Libya and North Korea. Musharraf later pardoned Khan and said the deals had been done without the knowledge of the Pakistani government.
Iran openly admits that it has already achieved proficiency in the full range of activities involved in enriching uranium ? a technology that can be used to produce fuel for nuclear reactors or atomic bombs ? but says its nuclear program is designed to generate electricity. The United States accuses Iran of trying to build a nuclear bomb.
Last November, Iran suspended uranium enrichment-related activities to build international confidence and avoid being referred to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.
The Europeans had been offering economic incentives in the hope of converting the temporary suspension into a permanent disbandment. Iran has agreed to provide guarantees that it will not use its nuclear program to make weapons but refuses to consider a permanent freeze of nuclear activities.
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