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Mottaki dismisses sanctions threat

DUBAI: Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has said he does not expect fresh sanctions against Iran as imposition of internationally approved economic curbs has become outdated.

“Sanctions were the ‘literature’ of the 60s and 70s,” said Mr. Mottaki on Thursday at a news conference during his visit to the Philippines. “I think they [the world powers] are wise enough not to repeat failed experiences. Of course it’s totally up to them,” he added.

Earlier, U.S. President Barack Obama told reporters in Beijing that Iran would face consequences if it failed to show that its nuclear programme was peaceful and transparent.

Mr. Mottaki reiterated that Tehran would be ready to consider swapping its low-enriched nuclear stocks with more purified enriched uranium inside Iran. In remarks first made in an interview to The Hindu, Mr. Mottaki had said some discussions had taken place “regarding the exchange of these two fuels inside Iran”.

Meanwhile, U.N. experts are set to visit on Thursday Iran’s second uranium enrichment plant being built inside a mountain near the city of Qom, Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ali Asghar Soltanieh announced on Wednesday.

“This site will from now on be under the IAEA. And for your information there will be another inspection tomorrow of this site in order to make sure that we are fully cooperating,” said Mr. Soltanieh.

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