UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon emphasized the need for diplomacy in resolving conflicts over Iran's nuclear plans, a U.N. spokesman said Friday.
After a leaked report from the International Atomic Energy Agency noted Iran had doubled the number of its uranium enrichment centrifuges, a spokesman for Ban said at a news briefing, "It is regrettable Iran has yet to reach an agreement with the IAEA on a plan to resolve all outstanding issues.
"The secretary-general emphasizes that there only can be a diplomatic and negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear issue. This must include measures by Iran aimed at building international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program," the statement from the spokesman added.
Since the discovery in 2003 of an 18-year concealment of its nuclear development program, Iran has repeatedly stressed the program is for peaceful purposes, but many countries contend it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
