EU Fooled Again

Iranian negotiator boasts of fooling Europeans
Of course, they so dearly wanted to be fooled. From the Telegraph via the Sydney Morning Herald, with thanks to Kemaste:

THE man who for two years led

Iran's nuclear negotiations has laid out in unprecedented detail how the regime took advantage of talks with Britain, France and Germany to forge ahead with its secret atomic program.

In a speech to a closed meeting of leading Islamic clerics and academics, Hassan Rowhani, who headed talks with the so-called EU3 until last year, revealed how

Tehran played for time and tried to dupe the West after its secret nuclear program was uncovered by the Iranian opposition in 2002.

He boasted that while talks were taking place in Tehran, Iran was able to complete the installation of equipment for conversion of yellowcake - a key stage in the nuclear fuel process - at its Isfahan plant while convincing European diplomats that nothing was afoot.

"From the outset, the Americans kept telling the Europeans, 'The Iranians are lying and deceiving you and they have not told you everything'. The Europeans used to respond, 'We trust them'," he said.

Revelation of Mr Rowhani's remarks comes at an awkward moment for the Iranian Government, before a meeting today of the United Nations atomic watchdog, which must make a fresh assessment of Iran's banned nuclear operations. The International Atomic Energy Agency's judgement is the final step before the case is passed to the UN Security Council, where sanctions may be considered.