Russian Foreign Minister: Iran's Nuclear Programme Must Be Controlled by IAEA

It is a matter of principle that Iran's nuclear programme should be controlled by the IAEA, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov stated on Tuesday following talks with his Iranian counterpart Kamal Kharrazi. Iran "is drafting no programme to use nuclear energy for military purposes," Ivanov added.

According to the Russian official, it is a sovereign right of any state to develop atomic technologies and to choose which kind of fuel to prefer, atomic or hydrocarbon one.

On his part Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi flatly refuted an allegation by American experts that it was unprofitable for Iran, with its hydrocarbon stock, to construct atomic power plants.

"It has been proved that it is more expedient to put up atomic power stations than steam power plants, with oil costing over $18 per barrel," the Iranian minister said. Iran is carrying out its nuclear programmes "exclusively to peaceful ends and it has no intention to create mass destruction weapons," the official stressed once again.