Iran ready to share n. know-how with others

A senior Iranian legislator underlined the peaceful nature of the country's nuclear program, and said Tehran is prepared to share its experiences and know-how in the field of nuclear technology with other countries. Iran is prepared to share its nuclear knowledge with the countries willing to use the technology for peaceful purposes and in line with their national interests, Vice-Chairman of the parliament's Energy Commission Nasser Soudani said on Tuesday. He went on to say that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly confirmed the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear energy activities and rejected any diversion from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) regulations. Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, while they have never presented any corroborative evidence to substantiate their allegations. Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry. Despite the rules enshrined in the NPT entitling every member state, including Iran, to the right of uranium enrichment, Tehran is now under four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions for turning down West's calls to give up its right of uranium enrichment. Tehran has dismissed West's demands as politically tainted and illogical, stressing that sanctions and pressures merely consolidate Iranians' national resolve to continue the path. Political observers believe that the United States has remained at loggerheads with Iran mainly over the independent and home-grown nature of Tehran's nuclear technology, which gives the Islamic Republic the potential to turn into a world power and a role model for the other third-world countries. Washington has laid much pressure on Iran to make it give up the most sensitive and advanced part of the technology, which is uranium enrichment, a process used for producing nuclear fuel for power plants.