Iran rejects demands to freeze nuclear work

TEHRAN: Iran on Thursday again rejected international demands it freeze its controversial nuclear programme and warned the UN Security Council against choosing a path of confrontation.

In a statement read on state television, nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani also said Iran would take until August 22 to reply to an international offer of incentives in exchange for a halt of uranium enrichment.

But he also accused the US, which has lumped Iran into an axis of evil, of trying to derail diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis.

"According to the adopted plan to generate 20,000 MW of atomic energy over the next 20 years, the Islamic republic has decided to make some of its own nuclear fuel inside Iran," said Larijani, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

He said Tehran was "ready to find a diplomatic solution with a suitable calendar for both parties" but issued a warning to the Security Council -- currently discussing ways to pressure Iran into freezing enrichment.

Several top officials have already threatened to prevent International Atomic Energy Agency inspections and even quit the NPT if the pressure mounts.

The Security Council members, Larijani said, should "return to the negotiating table". "Certain parties, notably the United States, have steered a path towards the Security Council by putting obstacles in the way of negotiations," Larijani said.