Iran said Sunday it would not return to a full freeze of its disputed nuclear activities, but nevertheless voiced confidence it would not face referral to the UN Security Council. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called on Iran to halt uranium conversion work at its Isfahan facility, and the European Union has set this as a condition for a resuming negotiations. But when asked if Iran would again halt uranium conversion work, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi simply replied: "No." "The suspension was voluntary and we are not ready to go back on our decision," he told reporters, sticking by Iran's position that it only wants to make reactor fuel and that it has a right to do so as a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The refusal to suspend work at Isfahan means Iran is unlikely to resume negotiations with Britain, France and Germany ahead of the next meeting of the IAEA's 35-nation board in November.
The so-called EU-3, backed by the United States, would therefore be expected to push for the case to be referred to the Security Council. "There is no judicial or legal reason to send the Iranian dossier to the Security Council," Asefi asserted. "Many countries have this view," he said, mentioning China and Russia as examples.