Iran’s armed forces began large-scale air defense war games Sunday to show off the country’s deterrence capabilities in the face of pressure from the West over its nuclear program.
The games came after senior officials from six world powers said Friday that they were disappointed that Iran had not accepted proposals intended to delay its potential to make nuclear weapons, and urged Tehran to reconsider.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, brokered the plan, which would have Iran send some 75 percent of its low-enriched uranium to Russia and France, where it would be turned into fuel for a Tehran medical research reactor.
On Wednesday, Iran ruled out sending enriched uranium abroad for further processing, saying it would consider swapping it for nuclear fuel provided that it remained under supervision inside the country.
The United States, Russia, China, Germany, Britain and France met after U.S. President Barack Obama warned that there could be a package of sanctions against Iran within weeks. But the officials stopped short of specific discussion of further sanctions, a senior European Union official said after the talks in Brussels.
“We are disappointed by the lack of follow-up on the three understandings reached [in the proposed deal],” the powers said in a joint statement.
“We urge Iran to reconsider the opportunity offered by this agreement … and to engage seriously with us in dialogue and negotiations,” said the statement read out by Robert Cooper, the EU official who chaired the meeting.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said Saturday that the six countries discussed developments surrounding the Iranian nuclear program and an IAEA governors meeting scheduled for Nov. 26 and 27 in Vienna, Interfax reported.
In a sign that it was undeterred by the meeting, Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards and military forces jointly started five days of maneuvers in various parts of the country, Brigadier General Ahmad Mighani said, according to state television.
“It is the biggest war game, which takes place over an area 600,000 square kilometers. The aim of this war game is to promote military power of the armed forces against any attack,” he said.
The United States and Israel, which Iran does not recognize, say they want a diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff, but refuse to rule out military action if diplomacy fails.
Iran has warned of a “crushing” response to any military action against its nuclear facilities.
Tehran has staged several war games in the past, including firing long-range Shahab-3 missiles, which it says have a range of 2,000 kilometers, putting Israel or U.S. bases in the Gulf within range.
Moscow, which is under pressure to distance itself from Iran over the nuclear dispute, has not followed through on proposals to ship S-300 missiles to the country. Iranian officials have voiced growing frustration over the delays in recent weeks.
(Reuters, MT)
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