/ 27 February 2007

Iran defiant on nuclear work as more sanctions loom

Iran on Tuesday vowed never to yield to the key Western demand on its nuclear programme after world powers agreed to work on a new resolution that could lead to more United Nations sanctions against Tehran.

Amid speculation that Washington may be planning military action to bring Tehran to heel, influential cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani warned Iran to be careful not to provoke the “wounded tiger” of the United States.

Diplomats from six key world powers had pledged in London on Monday to work on a new UN Security Council resolution over Iran’s refusal to suspend uranium-enrichment work, which the West fears could be used to make nuclear weapons.

But Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki retorted: “One thing that is not feasible is the Iranian nation backing down on having nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.”

He warned that Iran would not repeat the temporary suspension of enrichment agreed in 2004 as part of a deal with the European Union, saying Iran had received nothing in return.

“If suspension is needed for trust building, we have already taken this step and look how it ended,” Mottaki told a conference in Tehran.

“Europe gave us a list of suggestions but in return wanted us to halt enrichment, which is an illegal and illegitimate request and based on a false political premise which, God willing, will never be realised.”

Following the London meeting, representatives of the five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany agreed to convene again on Thursday to discuss how to agree on a consensus for a new resolution.

The UN Security Council agreed in December to impose its first sanctions against Iran, targeting the nuclear industry and its ballistics programme. Further sanctions could have wider implications for the Iranian economy.

However China, which along with Russia has been wary of further punitive action against Tehran, refused to say if it would back new sanctions against Iran.

“Our position has been consistent in that we advocate a solution to the Iranian nuclear issue through negotiation and peaceful means,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Qin Gang told reporters. “Sanctions are not our ultimate purpose.”

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said it was now “highly likely” the permanent members of the UN Security Council could soon agree a new resolution ordering sanctions against Iran.

Iran has been continuing with uranium-enrichment work at its plant in Natanz, central Iran, and wants to install thousands of uranium-enriching centrifuges there this year.

“We will soon enter the phase of the industrial usage of nuclear energy,” said Vice-President Parviz Davoodi, without specifying further.

“We are ready to negotiate on guarantees, a strengthening of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and about consortiums enriching uranium on our soil. What is not acceptable is renouncing our nuclear right,” said Mottaki.

While Washington insists it wants to end the stand-off diplomatically, the US has never ruled out using military action against Iran’s nuclear programme.

The US and Israel accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the charges, insisting that its atomic programme is peaceful in nature.

Former president Rafsanjani warned Iran to be wary of provoking the US, comparing the Islamic republic’s arch-foe to a “wounded tiger”.

“The Americans brought their troops with high spending to Iraq and Afghanistan. The only thing they did was to remove Iran’s enemies, Saddam Hussein and the Taliban,” said Rafsanjani, president from 1989 to 1997.

“They are angry. So we must be more alert. They are like a wounded tiger and we must not ignore this,” he said.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday compared the Iranian nuclear programme to a train without brakes or reverse gear, a comment that drew a reaction of mounting exasperation from US officials.

The increasingly sharp rhetoric between the West and Iran helped drive oil prices higher. — AFP