TEHRAN — Iran’s president defiantly refused to compromise as a U.N. deadline for his country to stop enriching uranium arrived yesterday, prompting the United States to threaten sanctions against the Islamist regime — with or without unanimous approval of the U.N. Security Council.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a crowd of thousands in the northwestern city of Orumiyeh “the Iranian nation will not accept for one moment any bullying, invasion and violation of its rights.”
President Bush said “there must be consequences” for Tehran, adding that “the world now faces a grave threat from the radical regime in Iran.”
The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Iran showed no signs of freezing enrichment, adding that Tehran started work on a new batch Aug. 24.
U.S. Ambassador John R. Bolton said that the U.N. Security Council must be ready to impose sanctions. But he also said that unanimity in the council is not needed — a reference to continued Chinese and Russian reluctance to move quickly on sanctions.
Mr. Bolton said that any move to penalize Iran will wait until the European Union’s foreign-policy chief, Javier Solana, meets with Iran’s top negotiator, Ali Larijani, sometime next week.
Iran’s refusal to cooperate fully with the IAEA and its continued development of nuclear technology leave no doubt that it is seeking a nuclear bomb, Mr. Bolton told reporters. Iran contends its program is for peaceful purposes.
In Washington, Robert Joseph, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, said the IAEA report was explicit in stating that Iran has failed to meet the demands of the Security Council regarding suspension of enrichment, as well as regarding transparency of its program.
“It is the most straightforward report from the IAEA to date,” Mr. Joseph told The Washington Times. “It makes clear that Iran continues to defy the Security Council and the international community.”
The report stated that Iran continues to feed uranium hexafluoride into its 164-machine centrifuge cascade and did so as late as Sunday.
It also said Iran is building additional facilities, including a second 164-centrifuge cascade and that work on a plutonium-based heavy-water reactor is continuing.
“It is a clear indictment, and the message is that Iran is moving forward with its nuclear program,” Mr. Joseph said.
Mohammad Saeedi, the deputy head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, insisted the IAEA report showed Iran’s cooperation. “Although the report does not meet our satisfaction … it indicates that the [U.S.’s] groundless claims were based on the U.S. officials’ illusions,” Mr. Saeedi was quoted as saying by the state news agency.
Mr. Bush blamed Iran for supporting the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, for helping to destabilize Iraq by sponsoring insurgents and supplying components for improvised explosive devices, and for denying basic human rights to millions of its own people.
“The world now faces a grave threat from the radical regime in Iran,” he told the American Legion convention in Salt Lake City. “We know the depth of suffering that Iran’s sponsorship of terrorists has brought. And we can imagine how much worse it would be if Iran were allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.
“There must be consequences for Iran’s defiance,” he said, “and we must not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons.”
A Bush administration official said sanctions on Iran could be imposedwithin weeks.
The sanctions will include financial measures aimed at curbing Iran’s weapons of mass destruction and missile programs and at limiting travel by Iranian officials.
More extreme sanctions could include a freeze on Iranian assets or a broader trade ban — although opposition to that by Russia, China and perhaps others would be strong, particularly since it could cut off badly needed oil exports from Iran.
The deadline was widely reported on the front pages of major Iranian newspapers. The daily Aftab said the showdown offers “the enemies” a chance to ratchet up pressure on Iran. Another newspaper, Kargozaran, expressed doubt the U.S. would muster enough support within the Security Council for punitive sanctions.
Tehran insists it wants to enrich uranium as fuel solely for civilian nuclear-power stations. However, the U.S. and other Western countries think it wants to use it in nuclear weapons.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed fresh suspicion that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons and said in remarks published yesterday that Arab governments are equally worried about Tehran’s ambitions.
“At the moment, Iran has no use whatsoever for enriched uranium — unless it is planning to build the bomb,” Mr. Steinmeier was quoted as saying in the newspaper Bild.
The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany offered the incentive package in exchange for a commitment from Tehran to freeze enrichment.
Bill Gertz contributed to this report in Washington.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.