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Speaking to reporters during a joint press conference in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi, both the Russian and Syrian presidents backed Iran's right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The United States and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, while they have never presented any corroborative document to substantiate their allegations. Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

America and its allies have quietly watered down their stance on Iran's nuclear programme, pledging no more economic sanctions if Tehran keeps its enrichment of uranium at present levels.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Finance chiefs from the G7 industrialized countries have endorsed nuclear energy, an increasingly attractive power source as governments confront global warming and over-dependence on fossil fuels. The Group of Seven, following a meeting here Friday, described energy diversification as an important priority for both rich and poor nations. "Diversification can include advanced energy technologies such as renewable, nuclear and clean coal," said the ministers and central bank governors from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. The group at previous meetings had been unable to agree on a text citing nuclear power, notably in...

How much impact will the UN resolution have on Iran? The sanctions imposed on Iran as part of UN Security Council Resolution 1737, which was passed unanimously on December 23rd, will not, in themselves, seriously inconvenience the Iranian government as it continues down the path of developing its nuclear industry. The price of maintaining a unified international front on the issue has been to incorporate fully the views of states, such as China and Russia, which favour gentle persuasion over coercion in their approach to Iran. Nevertheless, Iran's insistence on forging ahead with its nuclear programme on its own terms...

BEIJING - China and the United States on Saturday signed an agreement that paves the way for Westinghouse Electric Co. to build four civilian nuclear reactors in China, a multibillion dollar deal. The memorandum of understanding was signed by China's Minister for the National Development and Reform Commission Ma Kai and U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. Stephen Tritch, Westinghouse's president and CEO, said the details of the contract have yet to be finalized but that it was a multibillion dollar deal. He said the company want the plants up and running by 2013. Westinghouse, which was acquired by Japan's Toshiba...

TOKYO, November 30 (Itar-Tass) - Director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei said that real aims of the Iranian programme for uranium enrichment are unclear for him as before. ElBaradei expressed this viewpoint, delivering a lecture at Tokyo Industrial University on Thursday. "As for the nature of the Iranian nuclear programme, it is still questionable," he said. The IAEA chief emphasized at the same time that "any actions, connected with uranium enrichment and isolation of plutonium, should be made under international control". ElBaradei is in Japan as a guest of the Foreign Ministry. While meeting Foreign Minister...

TEHRAN, Oct 28: Iran on Saturday confirmed it had successfully enriched uranium from a new cascade at a nuclear plant despite the threat of sanctions, hailing the move as a step towards industrial-scale enrichment. The cascade of 164 centrifuges to enrich uranium is the second to be installed at the Natanz nuclear plant in central Iran, joining an already established first cascade of the same number of centrifuges. “The new cascade at Natanz has started work in the last two weeks,” Iran’s deputy atomic energy organisation head Mohammad Ghannad told the Iran newspaper. “The products of the two cascades of...

****The architecture of 21st-century geopolitics is changing fast, due to the rise of China and India ("New Nuke Ally," March 3). The United States wants India to expedite its transition from a significant Asian power to a leading global power for its own interests, as well as for the benefit of all democracies. No one appreciates India's contribution to international businesses more than the United States. President Bush knows that if we do not assist India with its uranium requirements now, our opinion regarding international access to India's cutting-edge nuclear technology won't matter. Bush would like to provide civilian nuclear...

WASHINGTON: US critics accused President George W Bush of selling out weapons non-proliferation goals in order to close a landmark nuclear deal with New Delhi, hardening battle lines as the US Congress prepares to debate its fate. Congress and the 44-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group must both approve the agreement, which would allow India, after three decades of pariah status, access to billions of dollars in US and other foreign atomic technology and fuel to meet its soaring energy needs. Although many US lawmakers favor closer ties with the world's largest democracy, non-proliferation advocates said details that had so far emerged...

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog has welcomed a nuclear agreement between the US and India. International Atomic Energy Agency chief (IAEA) Mohammed ElBaradei said it would boost non-proliferation efforts. The UK and France also hailed the deal. But it was criticised by some members of the US Congress, who said it would lead to the spread of nuclear weapons. Under the accord, India gets access to US civil nuclear technology and opens its nuclear facilities to inspection. US President George W Bush - who finalised the agreement with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi - called...

Bush's Budget to Call for Nuclear Partnership With Russia By MATTHEW L. WALD and DAVID E. SANGER Published: February 4, 2006 WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 — The Bush administration will propose in its budget on Monday the creation of an atomic energy partnership with Russia, offering countries a supply of fuel for their reactors under restrictions intended to prevent them from developing nuclear weapons, according to administration officials. Under the proposal, the United States and Russia would provide reactor fuel to other countries and take back the spent fuel afterward to prevent its use in weaponry. President Bush called for a...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Thursday backed a Russian proposal to resolve a nuclear stalemate with Tehran and said the United States supported democratic reformers in Iran. Bush laid out conditions for an "acceptable alternative" for Iran. "That the material used to power the plant would be manufactured in Russia, delivered under IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) inspectors to Iran, to be used in that plant, the waste of which will be picked up by the Russians and returned to Russia." "I think that is a good plan," he said. "The Russians came up with the idea...

NEW YORK, JANUARY 6: As the debate rages over the Indo-US nuclear deal, the US corporate sector has decided to come out strongly in support of it. In order to ensure the passage of the legislation in the US Congress, the US Chamber of Commerce, comprising of some three million American companies, along with the US India Business Council has set up a ‘Coalition of Partnership with India’. The first meeting of the Coalition is slated to be held before the Congress returns from recesses later this month. Ron Somers, president of the US India Business Council, said the American...

Iran rejects nuclear compromise Plan would allow uranium enrichment in Russia TEHRAN, Iran (Reuters) -- Iran said on Friday it would not accept any proposal aimed at solving its nuclear standoff with the West that did not allow it to enrich uranium on its own territory. "For Iran it is important to have (uranium) enrichment on its own soil," Ali Larijani, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency. He was responding to questions about reports that Russia planned to propose a compromise plan, with tentative backing from the European Union and Washington. Under...

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's parliament unanimously approved the outline of a bill Sunday that would require the government to resume uranium enrichment, legislation likely to deepen an international dispute over Iran's nuclear activities. Shouts of "Death to America!" rang out in the conservative-dominated parliament after lawmakers voted to advance the nation's nuclear program, an issue of national pride that provides a rare point of agreement between conservatives and reformers

TEHRAN (AFX) - Washington is not in a position to go to war against Tehran and its pressure over the Islamic Republic's disputed nuclear programme is nothing more than 'intimidation', Iran's top nuclear negotiator said. 'There will not be a war ahead of us. The situation in America does not allow them to create new fronts,' Ali Larijani was quoted as saying by the student news agency ISNA. 'War with Iran is hard for them, so they want to intimidate us into committing suicide,' he added, referring to Western efforts to make Tehran abandon work on the sensitive nuclear fuel...

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Iran is cooperating sufficiently with the International Atomic Energy Agency over its nuclear programme and it also wants to continue negotiations with the EU-3, Russian President Vladimir Putin said today. UN sanctions could cause "more problems that could probably reach a dead end," he told Fox News television. "Today the Iranian side is working sufficiently in cooperation with the IAEA," Putin said adding, during a recent meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the latter assured him that Tehran wants to continue negotiations with the EU-3 (France, Britain and Germany) and "we are going to proceed from that." Describing the question...

UNITED NATIONS: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made it clear on Thursday that Iran should not acquire nuclear weapons, a US official said after the leader’s talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Singh said that India ‘doesn’t wish Iran to become a nuclear state,’ US Undersecretary for political affairs Nicholas Burns told reporters. ‘We are gratified by what we’ve heard,’ Burns said after the talks on the sidelines of a UN Summit. India has come under attack in the US Congress over its growing energy and other economic cooperation with Iran, and has been accused of secretly trying...

ISLAMABAD, Aug 24: President General Pervez Musharraf has denied the allegations that transfers of centrifuge designs to N Korea by Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan helped N Korea in acquiring nuclear weapons. The president confirmed that Dr Khan provided centrifuge machines and their designs to N Korea, but said these transfers did not help North Korea acquire a nuclear weapons capability. “So, if N Korea has made a bomb...Dr. A.Q. Khan’s part is only enriching the uranium to weapons grade." said Musharraf. Asked to comment on reports that Mr. Khan gave about 20 centrifuges to North Korea, Gen Musharraf said: “Yes,...