War against Iran would be catastrophic: Russia

Moscow, Apr 11: Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov today called for the solution to the Iranian nuclear problem through political and diplomatic means, saying war against Iran would be catastrophic.

"The problem of Iran's nuclear dossier should be handled by using political-diplomatic means. A threat of war is a road to nowhere, or a way towards a catastrophe," Russian news agencies quoted Ivanov as saying in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, where he was on a visit.

He said Tehran's "nuclear dossier" was controversial, adding it had the right to pursue civilian nuclear energy.

He stressed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should strictly control the whole process of Iran's uranium enrichment.

''It is necessary to observe strictly in what volume and of what quality the uranium enrichment is executed,''Itar-Tass news agency quoted him as saying.

Ivanov said Russia, which is building Iran's first nuclear power plant in Bushehr, has offered to provide the Islamic Republic with nuclear fuel for electricity generation and take spent fuel back for reprocessing.

''I believe such approach is the most reasonable and balanced, and if someone is doing something secretly, the question arises, what he is doing. It is a very dangerous thing,''Ivanov said.

Iran said Monday it had begun producing nuclear fuel on an industrial scale, and reiterated plans to continue expanding its nuclear fuel production capacity.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday Moscow had no information about the Iranian uranium enrichment on an industrial scale as it was still unconfirmed.

UNI