12 December 2009: BBC News
The Iranian foreign minister has dismissed the
threat of new sanctions, saying his country needs up to 15 nuclear
power plants to meet its needs.
Manouchehr Mottaki, speaking
in Bahrain, also said Iran was ready to swap enriched uranium for
nuclear fuel rods, in line with a UN proposal.
Earlier, the US, UK and France warned Iran to comply with UN Security Council resolutions or face new sanctions.
Iran insists its programme is not aimed at acquiring nuclear weapons.
"We
need 10 to 15 nuclear plants to generate electricity in our country,"
he added. Iran currently has only one Russian-built nuclear power
plant, which is still under construction.
Turning to the UN
fuel scheme, he said Tehran was ready initially to exchange 400kg
(880lb) of low-enriched uranium kept on Kish Island for "an amount
equivalent to 20% of the original batch".
Last month, the UN
Security Council rebuked Iran for developing a new uranium enrichment
site in secret, and pressure for additional sanctions has grown.
Saturday's
speech did little to reassure Iran's anxious Gulf Arab neighbours, the
BBC's Frank Gardner reports from the conference.
Above all,
they fear a confrontation between Iran and Israel but they also fear
environmental pollution from Iran's nuclear facilities and worry about
Iran's regional ambitions, our correspondent says.
