JAKARTA, Indonesia Iran's president on Wednesday dismissed Western concerns over its nuclear program as "a big lie," a day after key U.N. Security Council members agreed to present Tehran with a choice of incentives or sanctions in deciding whether to suspend uranium enrichment.
Meanwhile, in a letter to Time magazine published on its Web site Wednesday, a representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei offered new possibilities toward solving the impasse with the United States and its allies on the issue.
Hassan Rohani, Iran's former top nuclear negotiator, said Tehran would consider ratifying an International Atomic Energy Agency protocol that provides for intrusive and snap inspections and would also address the question of preventing a pullout from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
The current Iranian negotiator, Ali Larijani, said Tuesday that Tehran had no intention of withdrawing from the treaty and promised to cooperate if the U.N. atomic watchdog agency dealt with the issue of its nuclear program, rather than the Security Council.
Iran ended all voluntary cooperation with the IAEA in February, including allowing snap inspections of its nuclear facilities.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told reporters Wednesday in Indonesia's capital that Iran will "absolutely not back out" of defending its right to pursue new technology, accusing the United States and other Western nations of monopolizing the nuclear technology market to secure profits while engaging in non-peaceful proliferation.
"They pretend that they are concerned about the nature of the nuclear program of the Islamic republic of Iran," he said after meeting with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. "This is a big lie."
"Today the people of Iran are not just defending their own rights, but also those of other nations," he said. "They (the United States and other Western powers) want to prevent other countries from reaching the pinnacle of science and technology."
At a meeting Tuesday, representatives of the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France as well as Germany agreed to tell Iran the possible consequences of its refusal to halt its enrichment program and the benefits if it abandons it.
The move will delay a U.S.-backed draft U.N. resolution that could lead to sanctions and possible military action if Iran does not suspend uranium enrichment.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stressed, however, that Tuesday's decision is not a substitute for a strong message to Iran from the Security Council "that their behavior to date is unacceptable, and that they need to return to the negotiating table."
The Chinese and Russians have balked at the British, French and U.S. efforts to put the resolution under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter. Such a move would declare Iran a threat to international peace and security and set the stage for further measures if Tehran refuses to comply. Those measures could range from breaking diplomatic relations to economic sanctions and military action.
Representatives from the three European countries that had been spearheading negotiations with Iran — Britain, France and Germany — will now spend the next few days preparing a package of incentives and sanctions, a European official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because there has been no official announcement.
The official said the package is likely to include issues related to energy security and civilian nuclear power. The package will be presented to European Union foreign ministers on the sidelines of an EU meeting in Brussels on Monday, and if approved will be presented to the Iranian government, the official said.
The United States accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies, saying it aims only to generate energy.
In Jakarta, Ahmadinejad also shrugged off Washington's dismissal of a letter he sent days ago to President Bush — the first such letter to an American leader in 27 years. The 18-page letter touched only indirectly Iran's nuclear program. Instead, it focused on a long list of grievances against the United States and sought to build on a shared faith in God to resolve them.
Rice told The Associated Press on Monday the letter "isn't addressing the issues that we're dealing with in a concrete way."
Ahmadinejad said he was not "disquieted" by the reaction and felt it was the correct decision to send the letter. "If they choose not to answer our question, it depends on them," he said.
Yudhoyono, speaking at a joint news conference after he met with Ahmadinejad for about 90 minutes, said he believed Iran was willing to resolve the nuclear standoff peacefully through further negotiations, and offered to help mediate. Yudhoyono's spokesman, Dino Pati Djalal, said Iran was very receptive to the offer.
"We need to breath new life into the negotiations," he said.
Yudhoyono also said he hoped Iran would continue dialogue with the IAEA.
"There is still room for a peaceful and just solution," he said. "President Ahmadinejad was more than willing to have a genuine and fair negotiation."
Ahmadinejad said his country has already cooperated with international agencies, saying Iran has allowed "2,000 man-hours" of inspections by the IAEA.
Ahmadinejad was in Indonesia for a three-day state visit followed by a development conference on the resort island of Bali.
I hear that the youths in Iran are becoming westernised (?!). If this is so, that isn't good news if America does attack Iran. They want Allah on their side after all.
Oh and ofcourse it's a big lie, any excuse to attack Muslim lands.
I hear that the youths in Iran are becoming westernised (?!). If this is so, that isn't good news if America does attack Iran. They want Allah on their side after all.
Oh and ofcourse it's a big lie, any excuse to attack Muslim lands.
I hear that the youths in Iran are becoming westernised (?!). If this is so, that isn't good news if America does attack Iran. They want Allah on their side after all.
Oh and ofcourse it's a big lie, any excuse to attack Muslim lands.
Some Muslims around here seem to think it is a good thing Iran has a nuclear program because they will wipe Israel off the map. As A has promised. Some seem to think it is an utter and total lie that Iran has a nuclear program. And some seem to believe both. May I ask which category you fall into and why you think Iran spent so much money buying nuclear technology from Pakistan which they somehow accidentally forgot to tell the UN as they are legally obliged to do?
Le coeur a ses raisons, que la raison ne connait pas. - Blaise Pascal
Salam
So y hasn't Israel signed the treaty..Dat's just purely double standards...Who is America to tell who can hav nuclear and who can't...Also wat about India?
The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) states that no country has the right to produce (etc.) nuclear weapons, and that the current nuclear powers have been obligated since 1970 to make "good faith" efforts to rid the world of them. However, it is important to realise that some international treaties and agreements have no enforcement mechanism thus sometimes not working efficiently.
The agreement between India and America shows that America will support India's nuclear status and critics have argued that this could undermine nonproliferation efforts. Pakistan and Iran feel that the United States are playing ‘double standards’ as they are helping India develop peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Wasalam
*Al-Hasan al-Basri was once asked: "Why is it that we cannot uphold prayers at night?" He answered: "You are shackled in your own sins".*
So y hasn't Israel signed the treaty..Dat's just purely double standards...Who is America to tell who can hav nuclear and who can't...Also wat about India?
A lot of people have not signed the treaty. Iran has. You cannot blame them for not being bound by a treaty they have not signed. But you can blame Iran for not abiding by their obligations.
Three states - India, Pakistan, and Israel - have declined to sign the treaty. India and Pakistan are confirmed nuclear powers, and Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, although it is not known to have conducted tests (see List of countries with nuclear weapons). These countries argue that the NPT creates a club of "nuclear haves" and a larger group of "nuclear have-nots" by restricting the legal possession of nuclear weapons to those states that tested them before 1967, but the treaty never explains on what ethical grounds such a distinction is valid.
The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) states that no country has the right to produce (etc.) nuclear weapons, and that the current nuclear powers have been obligated since 1970 to make "good faith" efforts to rid the world of them. However, it is important to realise that some international treaties and agreements have no enforcement mechanism thus sometimes not working efficiently.
True.
The agreement between India and America shows that America will support India's nuclear status and critics have argued that this could undermine nonproliferation efforts. Pakistan and Iran feel that the United States are playing ‘double standards’ as they are helping India develop peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Well the peaceful uses of nuclear energy are another matter. But India has got off lightly.
Le coeur a ses raisons, que la raison ne connait pas. - Blaise Pascal
India got off coz America wants to gain more support in the East..Every1 knows dat Israel have nuclear weapons and other weapons..It is America's biggest weapons buyer...But we all kno dat Israel has these weapons to keep the Middle East in check really...
*Al-Hasan al-Basri was once asked: "Why is it that we cannot uphold prayers at night?" He answered: "You are shackled in your own sins".*
SO why cany America do whatever it wants? UN said no against Iraq and they went ahead. How unfair is that. I think everyone should put sanctions on America, and hit them with their own stick.
LOL... ya, 8 pages... it will open ur eyes and ur heart... I suggest everybody sends it to everyone they know... cause America already dismissed it (meaning they are goign to hide it from the american people)
Kavon
I believe it came from Iran, they knew that Bush wouldn't show anyone, but the letter itself was a big deal and a lot of people were looking forward to what it said... So I believe Iran duplicated it before sending it out... and you can find it in the MidEast News agencies.
But it seems like something he would write,
I am waiting for U.S to write a fake letter from Ahmadi-Najad and show that to the american's with it saying something like "I will come to america and blow all you and your people up"
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I hear that the youths in Iran are becoming westernised (?!). If this is so, that isn't good news if America does attack Iran. They want Allah on their side after all.
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