Iran leader: Nuclear path 'irreversible' (AP) Updated: 2006-03-15 09:33 Iran's supreme leader issued a tough line on his
country's suspect nuclear program Tuesday, saying it is "irreversible" and any
retreat would endanger the Islamic republic's independence.
Iran's President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, waves to his suporters during his tour of Gorgan in
Golestan province, in northern Iran, Tuesday, March, 14, 2006. Ahmadinejad
said Tuesday that 'no power' can take nuclear fuel technology from Iran
and vowed that Tehran will resist pressure from U.N. security Council on
its nuclear program. [AP] |
The confrontational tone from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say
on all state matters, set Iran on a collision course with the West as the five
permanent members of the U.N. Security Council debated how to deal with fears
Tehran is seeking to develop atomic weapons.
After meeting Tuesday at the United Nations, the Security Council powers
remained divided over how strong a statement to make on Iran's nuclear program.
A British-French draft demands that Iran halt all uranium enrichment, which can
be used to make nuclear arms, and calls for a report within weeks on Iran's
progress toward answering questions about its nuclear program.
Russia and China, which have strong economic ties with Tehran, say the draft
does not leave enough room for diplomacy and focuses too much on possible action
by the council, which could impose sanctions.
The White House said the calls by Moscow and Beijing for a negotiated end to
the crisis do not mean the end of U.S. hopes for a strong statement from the
15-nation council.
"That's premature to get into that kind of discussion," White House press
secretary Scott McClellan said. "The discussions are ongoing."
McClellan said Iran wants to divert attention from the real issue, but that
"all nations understand the importance of preventing Iran from having a nuclear
weapon. ... This is about the regime's behavior."
At the United Nations, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said the Bush
administration wants to move "as quickly as we can," although he added that it
wants to maintain the unity of the five permanent council members that wield
veto power.
"Every day that goes by is a day that permits the Iranians to get closer to a
nuclear weapons capability," Bolton said.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw also called for a "robust and
determined" stance from the United Nations and said his country would consider
pushing for a weapons embargo against Iran if efforts to force it to clear up
questions about its nuclear intentions fail.
Khamenei's comments further dimmed already fading hopes for a compromise
proposal by Moscow that called for uranium enrichment to take place entirely on
Russian soil and was seen as the last chance for averting a standoff at Security
Council over Iran.
Tehran has been giving conflicting signals on the proposal, announcing over
the weekend that it was no longer being considered, then saying talks with
Russia were still under way.
Khamenei intervened Tuesday to lay down the one of his strongest statements
on the nuclear issue, apparently aimed at ending any compromising tone from
moderates within the Iranian government.
He told Iranian diplomats who were called home for consultations that there
would be no backing down.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran considers retreat over the nuclear issue ... as
breaking the country's independence which will impose huge costs on the Iranian
nation," Khamenei said, according to state television.
"This path is irreversible and the foreign policy establishment has to
bravely defend Iran's rights," he told the diplomats.
In a nationally televised speech, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also vowed to
resist pressure from the Security Council, saying "no power" can take nuclear
technology from Iran.
"They should know that through propaganda, political pressures and games they
play nowadays ... (they) can't prevent the Iranian nation from pursuing its
path," he said, referring to the West.
Russian negotiators held talks with an Iranian delegations Tuesday in Moscow,
urging a diplomatic solution to the standoff. The Iranians left the Russian
capital after the talks, with no announcement of any progress. Moscow has
appeared increasingly frustrated with Iran, a longtime ally that Russia is
helping to build its first nuclear reactor.
In another sign Tehran was preparing for the worst, officials told editors of
Iran's newspapers in recent meetings that editorials criticizing the
government's nuclear policies won't be tolerated, according to an internal
newsletter of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, Iran's largest reformist
party.
The nuclear program is a source of national pride in Iran, and even
pro-reform figures have supported its pursuit.
But criticism has been growing among reformists of Ahmadinejad's foreign
policy performance. The Islamic Iran Participation Front said in its newsletter
this week that Ahmadinejad's call for Israel to be "wiped off the map" last year
rang alarm bells in Western capitals and unnecessarily provoked the West against
Iran.
The United States and some in Europe accuse Iran of seeking to build nuclear
weapons. Iran denies the charge, saying its program aims only to use nuclear
reactors to generate electricity. It insists on its right under the Nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty to fully develop peaceful nuclear technology, including
uranium enrichment.
The United States and its European allies want Iran to
permanently abandon uranium enrichment, because the process can produce not only
fuel for a reactor but also the material for a nuclear warhead.
|