2007年VOA标准英语-White House ‘Disappointed’ Iran is Limiting IAE

The White House says it is disappointed by Iran's decision to limit cooperation with the United Nations nuclear agency. Russia and China are also urging Iran to comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions. Meanwhile, Iran is interrogating¹ 15 British navy personnel it detained Friday. Leta Hong Fincher has more on the dispute over Iran's nuclear ambitions.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino

The U.N. Security Council voted Saturday to impose tougher sanctions on Iran over its failure to suspend uranium enrichment. Iran has rejected the sanctions and said it will restrict its cooperation with the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency.

In Moscow Monday, the presidents of Russia and China urged Iran to comply with Security Council resolutions.  However, Vladimir Putin and Hu Jintao said in a joint³ statement the nuclear dispute should be solved through peaceful means – and expressed their willingness to search for a comprehensive and long-term solution.

Meanwhile, tensions between Iran and the West have deepened over Tehran's detention⁴ of 15 British sailors and marines in a disputed waterway Friday.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has demanded the immediate⁵ release of the navy personnel. "They [the Iranian government] should not be under any doubt at all about how seriously we regard this act, which was unjustified and wrong."

Iran said Monday it is interrogating the naval⁶ personnel to see if they intentionally⁷ entered Iranian territory. Britain insists its personnel were in Iraqi waters when they were detained.

Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, says it is "no accident" that the detention took place just a day before the U.N. imposed new sanctions on Iran. "The fact that this hostage taking took place now clearly indicates a conscious decision by the revolutionary corps⁸ in Tehran to seize these, perhaps as bargaining chips in the larger confrontation⁹."

The United States and its allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons.  Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only