Brazilian minister defends presence of int'l inspectors in Iranian nuclear power plants

The presence of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors in Iran's nuclear power plants could assuage fears of the international community and prove the Iranian nuclear program has only peaceful purposes, Brazil's Foreign Relations Minister Celso Amorim said Tuesday.

"The presence of IAEA inspectors is the best way to assuage the worries that any material will be used with non-peaceful purposes," the minister said in a UN-sponsored disarmament conference in Geneva, adding that Brazil believed "the construction of a positive environment is the only viable way to find a solution which appeases everyone."

Amorim said the agreement that Iran signed with Brazil and Turkey, to send its uranium to be enriched in Turkish territory, was not a new idea, but a suggestion made last year by the United States, France and Russia.

The minister stressed the agreement resulted from a long negotiation which replaced recriminations and suspiciousness. He said Brazil's reason to join the negotiations was its desire for the peace in the region.

"Turkey and Brazil aimed to find a manner that guaranteed Iran's right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy," he said.

Amorim also said the world will not achieve stability as long as the nuclear disarmament is postponed.

Source: Xinhua