The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Friday that Iran had
enriched uranium and persists with related activities in its nuclear program in
defiance of the UN Security Council.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gestures
to the crowd during a public gathering in the city of Khorramdareh, about
120 miles (200 kilometers) west of the capital Tehran, Iran, Friday, April
28, 2006. Ahmadinejad vowed Thursday that no one could make Tehran give up
its nuclear technology, and he warned that the United States and its
European allies will regret their decision if they 'violate the rights of
the Iranian nation.' [AP] |
Just before the report was released, Iran's president said the country "won't
give a damn" about any UN resolutions concerning its nuclear program.
The eight-page report, said that after more than three years of an IAEA
investigation, "the existing gaps in knowledge continue to be a matter of
concern."
"Any progress in that regard requires full transparency and active
cooperation by Iran," said the report, written by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei.
The finding set the stage for a showdown in the UN Security Council, which is
expected to meet next week and start a process that could result in punitive
measures against the Islamic republic.
But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said no Security Council resolution
could make Iran give up its nuclear program.
"The Iranian nation won't give a damn about such useless resolutions,"
Ahmadinejad told thousands of people Friday in Khorramdareh in northwestern
Iran.
"Today, they want to force us to give up our way through threats and
sanctions but those who resort to language of coercion should know that nuclear
energy is a national demand and by the grace of God, today Iran is a nuclear
country," state-run television quoted him as saying.
John Bolton, US ambassador to the United Nations, said "the United States is
ready to take action in the Security Council to move to a resolution."
"I think if anything, the IAEA report shows that Iran has accelerated its
efforts to acquire nuclear weapons, although, of course, the report doesn't make
any conclusions in that regard," Bolton said.
Bolton said the resolution should be under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter
"making mandatory for Iran the existing requirements of the IAEA resolutions,
and particularly the resolution the board passed in February." Chapter 7
resolutions can be enforced by sanctions, or militarily.
The report said Iran's claim to have enriched small amounts to a level of 3.6
percent ¡ª fuel-grade uranium as opposed to weapons-grade enriched to levels
above 90 percent ¡ª appeared to be true, according to initial IAEA analysis of
samples it took.
In one of the few new developments in the IAEA's more than three-year
investigation, the report concluded that Iran used undeclared plutonium in
conducting small-scale separation experiments.