Senior cleric and former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani declared at Tehran University Friday prayers on 11 February 2005 that Iran would not relinquish its independently developed nuclear fuel cycle technology. He said Iran had as much right to nuclear energy as the roughly 70 to 80 percent of developed nations that rely on it for electricity, and that enrichment would continue.
The address came in the middle of negotiations by Britain, France, and Germany to persuade Tehran to surrender its fuel cycle program in exchange for security, trade, technology, and diplomatic incentives. Rafsanjani signaled openness to confidence-building measures but set a tight timeframe, warning that Iran would resume nuclear work at full capacity once the window closed.
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty permits fuel cycle activities, though Western governments note the same enrichment infrastructure can yield weapons-grade material. The Europeans argued that Iran abandoning the fuel cycle was the only path to credible guarantees it would not build a bomb.
The United States, which insisted Iran was using civilian nuclear facilities as cover for a weapons program, had called for a referral to the UN Security Council and had not ruled out military action. Rafsanjani dismissed those threats as unenforceable in the Persian Gulf region.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in February 2005, in its own words.