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Iran Defends Nuke Program in Letter to the World

Posted Nov 20, 07 2:51 PM CST in World 

(Newser) – Iran has written a letter to world diplomats insisting that the nation's nuclear program is not a threat. "I would like to emphasize that Iran's nuclear program is completely peaceful," the foreign minister writes, adding that Iran has worked with the IAEA "even beyond its legal commitments." The state news agency said the letter went to foreign ministers but not whether the US was included.

Although  the IAEA commended Iran last week for working towards greater openness, the agency says the country has stepped up uranium enrichment and still has many questions to answer, Reuters reports. Meanwhile, the letter included harsh words about UN sanctions: "It is questionable, indeed, why some specific countries are insisting to follow up the case through illegal and unlawful means."

Source Reuters

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Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki sIts by the Bosporus during a break of the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the neighboring countries of Iraq in Istanbul,Turkey on Saturday Nov. 3, 2007....   (Associated Press)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, right, listens to Syrian Foreign Minister, Walid al-Moallem, left, during their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2007. Pictures of Iranian late revolutionary...   (Associated Press)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, right, listens to Syrian Foreign Minister, Walid al-Moallem, during their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2007. An unidentified translator sits at center....   (Associated Press)
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, right, talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, during the closing ceremony the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) summit in...   (Associated Press)
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