Iran Delegate Casts Doubt on Nuke Freeze

VIENNA, Austria - A senior Iran delegate appeared to cast some doubt Monday on his country's freshly delivered commitment to a total suspension of nuclear activities that can yield weapons-grade uranium, saying some centrifuges will operate despite the freeze.


The comments by Hossein Mousavian to Iranian television came just hours before the board of the U.N. atomic watchdog agency readied to approve a resolution meant to bring an end to a dispute that had threatened to go all the way to the U.N. Security Council.


Diplomats, from the European Union (news - web sites) and elsewhere, said the commitment — sent by letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna on Sunday — fulfilled demands that Tehran include centrifuges in its total suspension of uranium-enrichment programs.


But Mousavian, the chief Iranian delegate to the meeting, suggested otherwise, telling IRIN television: "The centrifuge systems would not stop and will continue to work under the full supervision of the IAEA."

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