Iran Nuclear Watch: IAEA Says Iran Defies United Nations Security Council
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gestures to the crowd during a public gathering in the city of Khorramdareh, about 120 miles (200 kilometers) west of the capital Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 28, 2006. Ahmadinejad vowed Thursday that no one could make Tehran give up its nuclear technology, and he warned that the United States and its European allies will regret their decision if they “violate the rights of the Iranian nation.”
ASSociated Press: Nuclear Agency Says Iran Defying U.N.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday that Iran has defied a U.N. Security Council call for a freeze on enriching uranium and its lack of cooperation with nuclear inspectors was a “matter of concern.”
President Bush said “the world is united and concerned” about what he called Iran’s “desire to have not only a nuclear weapon but the capacity to make a nuclear weapon or the knowledge to make a nuclear weapon.”
The eight-page report, obtained by The Associated Press, said that after more than three years of an IAEA investigation, “the existing gaps in knowledge continue to be a matter of concern.”
Any progress in that regard requires full transparency and active cooperation by Iran,” said the report, written by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei.
No surprises.
Now, the United States proceeds directly to the United Nations Security Council. The past thirty days have been fruitless and nothing was accomplished but more stall.
The finding set the stage for a showdown in the U.N. Security Council, which is expected to meet next week and start a process that could result in punitive measures against the Islamic republic.
But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said no Security Council resolution could make Iran give up its nuclear program.
“The Iranian nation won’t give a damn about such useless resolutions,” Ahmadinejad told thousands of people Friday in Khorramdareh in northwestern Iran before the IAEA report was issued.
“Today, they want to force us to give up our way through threats and sanctions but those who resort to language of coercion should know that nuclear energy is a national demand and by the grace of God, today Iran is a nuclear country,” state-run television quoted him as saying.
Bush said he was not discouraged by Iran’s vow to continue despite global pressure. “I think the diplomatic options are just beginning,” he said in Washington.
The stage has been set and the ball is clearly in President Bush’s court.
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev (L) is reflected in a side table as he meets with U.S. President George W. Bush in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington April 28, 2006. Bush said on Friday he wanted to solve the Iran nuclear issue diplomatically and peacefully. Speaking after a meeting with Aliyev, Bush said, ‘I assured the president of my desire to solve this problem diplomatically and peacefully.’ Aliyev is in Washington on an official visit
Stay tuned……
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The Natanz uranium enrichment complex in Natanz is pictured in this January 2, 2006 satellite image.
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