Iran on Friday upped the ante in the dispute over its nuclear programme by threatening to block inspections of its facilities if it is referred to the United Nations security council.
As Britain raised the possibility of economic sanctions, the Iranian foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, said the Islamic regime would retaliate by ending voluntary snap checks by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog.
Responding to Thursday’s decision by the EU trio of Britain, France and Germany to abandon two-and-a-half years of talks with Iran, Mottaki said: ”In case of referral of the nuclear dossier to the UN security council, the EU members will lose their present chances, given that once such a measure is taken, the government will have to stop all its voluntary cooperation with the UN watchdog.”
But in an apparent effort to avoid a UN referral, Mottaki called for further talks that would ”clarify ambiguities or worries” held by the west, which suspects the Iranian nuclear programme is intended to produce atomic weapons, and not just electricity, as the regime claims.
”They can choose to continue talks, hear Iran’s clear explanations and come up with a solution that would be satisfactory to both sides,” he said.
But in Washington President George Bush indicated that the time for talking had passed. A nuclear Iran, he said, would be a threat to global security, adding that it was ”logical that a country which has rejected diplomatic entreaties be sent to the United Nations security council”.
”Using the guise of a civil nuclear weapons programme to get the know-how for a nuclear weapon is unacceptable,” he said after talks with the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. Merkel said unity was essential in facing the Iranian threat and added that Europe and the US ”will certainly not be intimidated”.
Iran argues that it has a right to pursue technology that its adversaries already possess. Its ultra-conservative President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, declared that Iran ”will not accept that some hold science and technology as their possession and deprive others of it”.
Its adversaries argue it is in breach of UN weapons proliferation treaties. Britain is due to host a meeting with US, EU, Chinese and Russian officials in London on Monday to agree a position after Iran this week removed UN seals to resume uranium enrichment research.
Russia, which has been trying to broker a compromise under which it would enrich Iran’s uranium on its soil, has indicated it would not veto a UN vote to censure the Iranians. In that case it is believed that China, a major importer of Iranian oil, would follow suit.
Jack Straw, the British Foreign Secretary, said on Friday that such a vote would not automatically trigger sanctions. ”There are plenty of examples where the security council has made what are called chapter seven resolutions,” he told the British Broadcasting Corporation, ”imposing obligations on a member state without the resort to sanctions. Obviously if Iran failed to comply the security council would then consider sanctions.”
Straw explicitly ruled out force, and Bush said yesterday that he wanted to solve the issue diplomatically. On Friday night former president Bill Clinton said he doubted that the US would revert to the military option. ”I don’t know where we would get the troops right now,” he said. ”And the Iranians — it’s a different kettle of fish than Iraq. It’s three times as big, they have a much bigger military operation.”
One of Britain’s most senior military officers said on Friday he strongly opposed any attack on Iran. ”The impact would be absolutely horrendous,” Alan West, the first sea lord, told British defence journalists. He made it clear he was talking about a military strike by Israel as well as by the US. ”Getting involved in military action would be a very silly thing to do.”
West’s warning reflects widespread concern in the British military about the Bush administration’s reliance on military action or threats to solve complicated issues. There is also anger about comments by British ministers that Iran is responsible for roadside bombs which have killed a number of British soldiers and contractors in Basra. There is no hard evidence that Iran was responsible, they insist.
On Friday Conservative MP Michael Ancram said he supported calls for Iran to be ejected from this summer’s football World Cup. A Fifa spokesperson said it could not be barred for political reasons.
The threat of economic sanctions has spooked the oil market into worrying whether supplies from Iran, the world’s fourth biggest producer, could be choked, causing a global shortage. The price of crude rose above $65 dollars a barrel this week.
Analysts in Tehran said the regime would not be deterred by the prospect of a UN referral or sanctions. ”If it’s a choice between sanctions and the nuclear programme, they would choose the latter. They believe the nuclear issue has forced the west to take them seriously. They think they can force Washington to accept the Islamic regime’s status by waving the nuclear flag,” said Sadegh Zibakalam, a political analyst at Tehran University. – Guardian Unlimited Â