Brussels, 01/04/2005 (Agence Europe) - The Iranian President Mohammad Khatami took the opportunity of an organised visit for the international press to two sites in the Iranian nuclear programme to once again put pressure on Europe: Mr Khatami effectively reiterated that Iran intended to resume its uranium-enrichment activities which were suspended following the signing of the Paris Agreement in November last year with the EU-3 (Germany, France and the UK, who were negotiating on behalf of the EU), albeit without abandoning negotiations. Mr Khatami accompanied around fifty local and foreign journalists on a visit to a nuclear enrichment factory at Natanz and a uranium-processing plant near to Ispahan. The Iranian President indicated that “despite pressure” exerted on his country to “deprive [us]of peaceful nuclear technologies” Iran was “on the verge of producing nuclear fuel”. He warned that they would complete what they had been doing up to now in the near future, and would not abandon nuclear activities at any price, alluding to the broad agreement on trade, technological cooperation and political dialogue promised by Europe in exchange for “objective guarantees” that Iran had definitively ceased enriching uranium. Teheran does not, however, intend to abandon negotiations with Europe: Mr Khatami pointed out that the European experts from the nuclear issues working group (who are due to meet for new negotiations behind closed doors in Geneva some time in April) were currently examining an Iranian proposal to reduce Iranian enrichment activities in stages to the absolute minimum. At Natanz, the Vice-President of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation Mohammad Saeedi pointed out to the journalists present that Iran wants to “produce nuclear fuel” for civilian purposes under the watchful eye of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Mr Saeedi added that Iran is simply but clearly asking to be able to do the same as Japan, Germany or Brazil. Berlin, London and Paris did not wish to respond to Mr Khatami's declarations. In Washington, the State Department chose to put the Iranian President's words in perspective and renewed their support for the European negotiations to obtain a complete cessation of the Iranian nuclear armament programme.