TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's president defiantly refused to compromise as a UN
deadline for his country to stop enriching uranium arrived Thursday, saying
Tehran would not be bullied into giving up its right to nuclear technology.
Iran's refusal to heed the UN Security Council demand to stop enrichment will
be detailed in a confidential IAEA report to be completed Thursday and given to
the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35 board member nations. That is likely
to trigger council members - by mid-September - to begin considering
economic or political sanctions.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks during a
press conference in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2006. Iran's hard-line
president on Tuesday challenged the authority of the U.N. Security
Council, saying no one can prevent his country from having a peaceful
nuclear program. [AP] |
Iran could theoretically still announce a full stop to uranium enrichment
before the day is up, but that appeared unlikely, given President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad's speech and new findings by the IAEA that Iran was enriching small
quantities of uranium as late as Tuesday.
"The Iranian nation will not accept for one moment any bullying, invasion and
violation of its rights," Ahmadinejad told a crowd of thousands in the
northwestern city of Orumiyeh.
He also said enemies of the country were trying to stir up differences among
the Iranian people, but "I tell them: you are wrong. The Iranian nation is
united."
"They claim to be supporting freedom but they support the most tyrannical
governments in the world to pursue their own interests," he said, referring to
the United States. "They talk about human rights while maintaining the most
notorious prisons. Those powers that do not abide by God and follow evil are the
main source of all the current problems of mankind."
The U.S. State Department has not said publicly what type of punishment it
might seek. But U.S. and European officials have indicated they might push for
travel restrictions on Iranian officials or a ban on sale of dual-use technology
to Iran. The hope is to start with relatively low-level punishments in a bid to
attract Russian and Chinese support, the officials have said.
More extreme sanctions could include a freeze on Iranian assets or a broader
trade ban ¡ª although opposition to that by Russia, China and perhaps others
would be strong, particularly since it could cut off badly needed oil exports
from Iran.
Russia and China, which have traditional economic and strategic ties with
Tehran, seem likely to resist US-led efforts for a quick response, which means
sanctions do not loom immediately. That has prompted the Bush administration to
consider rallying its allies to impose sanctions or financial restrictions of
their own, independent of the Security Council.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi shrugged off the
possibility of sanctions Thursday, telling state-run television that Iran "will
find a way to avoid pressure eventually."
The deadline was widely reported on the front pages of major Iranian
newspapers. The daily Aftab said the showdown offers "the enemies" a chance to
ratchet up pressure on Iran. Another newspaper, Kargozaran, expressed doubt that
the US would muster enough support within the Security Council for punitive
sanctions.
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