Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Warns It May Ignore International Nuclear Regulations

Iranians work on a new construction site at the Bushehr nuclear power plant, in southern Iran. Russia has agreed to ratchet up pressure on Iran gradually but opposes sudden and “excessive” UN sanctions in response to Tehran’s refusal to curb its nuclear program, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.

AP: Iran warns it may ignore nuclear rules

Iran’s supreme leader said Wednesday that Tehran will pursue nuclear activities outside international regulations if the U.N. Security Council insists it stop uranium enrichment.

“Until today, what we have done has been in accordance with international regulations,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said. “But if they take illegal actions, we too can take illegal actions and will do so.”

Khamenei did not elaborate on what “illegal actions” could be pursued by Tehran, which faces new Security Council sanctions over its refusal to halt enrichment.

And this is ominous how?

Iran has a SECRET nuclear weapons program and isn’t that outside the international regulations.

Iran’s arguments are becoming more and more MORONIC as the United Nations fiddles around with sanctions.

Russian and Iranian technicians work inside the Bushehr nuclear power plant in February 2006. Russia has not threatened to withhold nuclear fuel for Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant if Tehran does not suspend uranium enrichment as demanded by the Security Council, its ambassador to the UN has said.

European and U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks said Tuesday that Moscow had bluntly told Tehran it would not ship fuel for the Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran until Tehran freezes its uranium enrichment program.

Lavrov denied that.

“It’s not the first time that we are seeing such an unscrupulous approach aimed at driving a wedge between us and Iran,” he told lawmakers in the lower house of parliament. “There is no link whatsoever between the U.N. resolution … and the implementation of the Bushehr project.”

Russia has said plans to supply fuel for Bushehr this month were called off because of Iranian payment delays that prompted Moscow to indefinitely postpone the reactor’s September launch. Russian officials also said that the number of workers at Bushehr had dwindled due to the funding shortage.

Iran angrily denied falling behind in payments and accused Russia of caving in to U.S. pressure to take a tougher line on Tehran.

A clue to the Iranians. Don’t try to stiff the Russians.