Iran on Monday put up a serious challenge to the US, inviting American companies to partake in the country's nuclear programs if Washington had serious qualms about Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
"I don't think America is worried about Iran's nuclear programs; if they are, we invite them to come and participate in these programs and construct the facilities," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi told reporters during a weekly briefing, IRNA reported.
Washington has turned up the heat against Tehran in recent weeks, accusing Iran of pursuing an aggressive nuclear program and hiding suspected al-Qaeda elements.
"Most of these statements are pretexts they (Americans) had told the former (Pahlavi) government to come to Iran and build atomic plants," Asefi conveyed. "We have clearly said we want the nuclear know-how for peaceful objectives. We have other concerns about the country's reconstruction and development and there is no room for nuclear arms in our programs," he added.
The Iranian official renewed Tehran's preconditions for joining the Additional Protocol of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to which Iran is a party, asking western companies to lift their sanctions against the country's nuclear programs.
"The Additional Protocol is a separate issue. It must be confirmed first how the sanctions have affected us while we are a member of the NPT. They (western countries) must help us achieve the nuclear know-how instead of putting restrictions," Asefi said.
Russia invites US to help build Iran nuclear plant
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Iran asks US to tender for sites
By Ali Akbar Dareini 02jun03
IRAN today invited the US to tender for the construction of its nuclear power plants in a bid to allay Washington's fears that Tehran is building a nuclear bomb.
But at a press conference today, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi did not say how the offer would pass Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has banned all official dealings between Iran and the US.
Asefi also said Iran would reveal the names of the al-Qaeda members in its custody as soon as security officials had identified them.
The US should apologise to the world for its role in the establishment of al-Qaeda, the terrorist group that carried out the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, Asefi said.
"Iran was a victim of al-Qaeda well before the September 11 attacks in America. We were fighting al-Qaeda terrorists before the United States learned how dangerous was the group it had helped to flourish," Asefi said.
"The United States owes world opinion a big apology on this."
Asefi did not provide any evidence of US links to al-Qaeda.
He appeared to be repeating the widely-held view in Iran that Washington cooperated with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in the creation of al-Qaeda and its ally, the Taliban, the former regime in Afghanistan, to oppose Tehran.
Al-Qaeda and Taliban are hard-line Muslim Sunni bodies whereas Iran follows a strict Shi'ite interpretation of Islam.
Asefi dismissed US suspicions that Iran was enriching uranium to produce fuel suitable for building a nuclear bomb.
"If the United States is really concerned (about Iran's nuclear program), it can participate in the construction of nuclear power plants in our country," Asefi said.
Iran has said it plans to build more nuclear plants, but has not yet called for tenders.
Its first nuclear plant, the Russian-built one at Bushehr, is due to come on stream at the end of the year.
Bushehr will have a capacity of 1000 megawatts, far short of the 6000 megawatts that Iran seeks to produce from nuclear fuel by 2020.
"Under the former (the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi) regime, the United States offered to build nuclear power plants for Iran, and it knew Iran had oil. What has happened so that they are taking a different line now?" Asefi asked.
Iran and the US have had no diplomatic relations since 1979 when Iranian militants stormed the US Embassy in Tehran and took its occupants hostage.
While reformist allies of President Mohammad Khatami favour renewed contacts with Washington, supreme leader Khamenei, who has the final say, has ruled out any formal dealings with the US.
At the moment, the two countries exchange sports teams and have limited diplomatic contact in forums such as the United Nations.
"Iran seeks the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Iran's concern is to develop the country economically and technologically. Nuclear weapons have no place in Iran's agenda," Asefi said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has visited the site where Iran is alleged to be enriching uranium and is due to issue a report in coming weeks.
Asefi said Iran would deport its al-Qaeda detainees to their countries of origin after they had been identified.
"Our friends in the related organisations continue interrogating them (al-Qaeda members). As soon as we learn about their true identities, we will announce it," Asefi said.
The US has charged that al-Qaeda operatives in Iran played a role in the suicide attacks in Riyadh on May 12, which killed 26 bystanders.
But Iranian Foreign Minister Kaman Charade said on Friday that the al-Qaeda detainees were arrested before the Riyadh bombings so they could not have been involved.
http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,6533786%255E401,00.html