Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, in Moscow for talks on his country's disputed nuclear program, warned Friday that Tehran would reconsider its ties with the United Nations' nuclear watchdog if European-drafted sanctions are passed by the U.N. Security Council, AP reported. «We will reconsider relations with the IAEA if the United Nations pass the ... resolution ignoring Russia's amendments,» Larijani said according to the Interfax, ITAR-Tass and RIA Novosti news agencies. He reaffirmed that the Iranian nuclear problem should be solved through talks with the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany. The six nations offered Iran a package of economic incentives and political rewards in June if it agreed to freeze its uranium enrichment effort, but Tehran has said it would continue enrichment. The European draft resolution would order all countries to ban the supply of material and technology that could contribute to Iran's nuclear and missile programs and impose a travel ban and asset freeze on companies, individuals and organizations involved in those programs. It would exempt the nuclear power plant being built by Russia at the Iranian port of Bushehr, Iran, but not the nuclear fuel needed for the reactor. Moscow has rejected the European draft, saying the sanctions are too broad and too strong. It urged the removal of all references to Bushehr, among other revisions. At the same time, Russian nuclear officials have hinted they could postpone Bushehr's scheduled launch next year _ a signal that Moscow was applying its own pressure on Tehran to comply with international demands. But analysts said Moscow would draw the line at scrapping the project, which is more than a decade old and worth some US$1 billion (¤800 million). Tehran has balked at a Russian offer to host the Iranian enrichment effort on Russian soil to assuage international concerns that Iran could develop weapons. In an apparent bid to soothe Russia's irritation, Larijani said Friday that the proposal has remained on the table. He also hailed relations with Moscow. «Russia is our neighbor and friend. We are natural allies,» Larijani said. Larijani was scheduled to hold talks with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other Russian officials Friday.
