Teheran defiant as deadline nears
(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-09-01 06:55
VIENNA: Iran vowed yesterday never to shelve its nuclear programme, defying
the threat of sanctions as a UN deadline approached for Teheran to stop work
that the West fears could lead to atomic bombs.
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]
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"The Iranian nation will never abandon its obvious right to peaceful nuclear
technology," state radio quoted President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying, as time
ran out for Iran to stop enriching uranium.
"(The West) should know the Iranian nation will not yield to pressure and not
accept any violation of its rights," he said in a televised speech earlier.
In Salt Lake City, US President George W. Bush, yesterday delivered his
starkest threat yet to Teheran.
He told thousands of veterans at the American Legion convention: "There must
be consequences for Iran's defiance. We must not allow Iran to develop nuclear
weapons."
It's not clear when exactly the deadline was to run out.
The US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, said on Wednesday that
he believed it would end at 0:01 am on Friday in Teheran (4:31 am today,
Beijing).
Iran insists it wants atomic energy only for electricity. Western leaders
suspect a disguised weapons project and the UN Security Council has ordered it
to suspend the work.
"Arrogant powers are against Iran's peaceful nuclear progress. Their pretext
and claim is that Iran's peaceful nuclear knowledge might be diverted (into
weapons-making) one day. It is a big lie," Ahmadinejad said.
Washington says world powers are poised to begin discussing punitive measures
next week against Iran if, as expected, the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) reports Teheran has ignored the UN demand to stop enriching uranium by
August 31.
The Security Council asked Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the nuclear watchdog
IAEA, to spell out on August 31 if Iran had complied with the deadline set in a
July 31 resolution.
ElBaradei's report may state that Iran has stonewalled IAEA inquiries into
the nature of its nuclear activity to a standstill, one senior diplomat close to
the agency said.
Agencies
(China Daily 09/01/2006 page1)
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