INTERNATIONAL 01.14.2006 Saturday - ISTANBUL 20:07
Iran Challenges Europe in Nuclear Crisis
By Foreign New Desk, Istanbul
Published: Saturday, January 14, 2006
zaman.com
Iran, angered by statements pouring in from European countries over its nuclear program, has announced plans to cut off all voluntary cooperation with the international community if they are sent to the United Nations Security Council to apply for the introduction of sanctions. Iranian Foreign Minister Manoucher Mouttaki warned Europe will lose the chance of reconciliation with Iran and will be forced to halt the studies of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). After Iran announced plans to resume its nuclear fuel studies earlier this week, the big guns of the European Union, Germany, France, and Britain’s foreign ministers gathered in the German capital Berlin to send Iran’s nuclear dossier to the Security Council. Following a counter-statement by Iran, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her British counterpart Jack Straw underlined as recently as Friday that a military intervention in the country was out of question and are pushing for a diplomatic solution to the issue. Following the meeting of the EU’s big three on Thursday Iranian foreign minister was the first to react against the decision to send his country to the Council. Mouttaki told the official Iranian news agency, IRNA, the West will bare the consequences if Iran is sent to the Council. The minister threatened to obstruct the IAEA controls at its nuclear plants and maintain its uranium enrichment program. Mouttaki insisted Iran’s nuclear activities are greatly exaggerated and recalled they had signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty and that it was only natural for them to conduct uranium enrichment studies. “Iran does not need to have permission from any country. It is our legal right to have nuclear energy,” he determined. US President George Bush, in a statement on the issue released following his talk with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said that they cannot allow countries such as Iran to blackmail peace loving countries like themselves. Bush said diplomatic efforts will continue and passing a decision on Iran by the Security Council will be a part of these efforts. Merkel said she shares the same concerns with Washington over Iran and to cooperate with the US is of benefit to Germany. “Iran crossed the line,” the chancellor said Thursday. Straw, who came together with his German and French counterparts and Javier Solana, EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, on the same day, said yesterday, sanctions over Iran may come to the agenda if the country refuses to obey the demands of the international community. The British secretary, speaking to BBC radio, told in a response a question about a possible attack on Iran, “No one speaks about an invasion or striking Iran.” The dispute, he said, can only be solved through peaceful channels and reminded he has not spoken to the US about possible military intervention. There is no clear proof that Iran will use its nuclear program to develop weapons secretly, but the strong suspicion remains that Iran has an intention to produce nuclear bombs. Rice also emphasized the use of force against Iran is not a choice “for the moment.” The US Secretary of State in an interview to CBS Evening News, responded: “The US President would remove this choice from the table and nobody would ask him to do this. We are now on a diplomatic mission and we will not deviate from this route at this point,” when asked “Will the US use force to stop Iran?” On Friday, France announced it is too early to ask for sanctions against Iran. French Foreign Ministry speaker Jean-Baptiste Mattei said, “We, and our allies, think the demand for sanction has not yet matured.” In line with these efforts, Russia called on Tehran to suspend its nuclear activities and resume its cooperation with the IAEA. The United States and EU countries accuse Iran of secretly attempting to develop nuclear weapons; however, the Tehran administration rejects these accusations. After Iran removed the seals from its nuclear plants earlier this week, the EU trio announced the talks, which had been ongoing for 2.5 years, had reached a dead end and it was time for the UN to become involved. The EU’s big three will meet in London next week to discuss the issue along with the US, China and Russia.
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Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke out in a rare news conference on Saturday against statements made by Europe and the United States, saying that if any country refers it to the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program, that it will end their voluntary compliance with surprise inspections and other nuclear cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the IAEA. He also warned that Europe will lose the chance of reconciliation if it pursues sanctions.

President Ahmadinejad said that even if Iran is referred to the Security Council for possible sanctions, the action would still not stop its nuclear program. "They keep on threatening us that we have to either accept what they say or they will send us to the Security Council," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during a news conference in the Iranian capital of .

Iran's statements came as Europe and the U.S. began to build support for reporting Iran to the U.N. Security Council. However, China has been cautious and has warned the move could only escalate the confrontation.

Meanwhile, President George W. Bush, and Chancellor Angela Merkel, urged U.N. intervention. "The world needs to send a common message to Iran that their behavior...is unacceptable," Bush said.

The U.S. and Europe continue to have growing concerns that Iran is trying to produce nuclear weapons.

On Tuesday, Britain, France and Germany issued a statement declaring that 2 1/2 years of tense negotiations with Tehran were a "dead end" and urged the U.N. Security Council to intervene.
The U.N. Security Council
Iranian Foreign Minister, Manoucher Mouttaki, said to the press yesterday that "the West will bear the consequences if Iran is sent to the Council. Iran does not need to have permission from any country. It is our legal right to have nuclear energy."

In response the Bush administration, along with Chancellor Angela Merkel, said that they "cannot allow countries such as Iran to blackmail peace-loving countries like themselves."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that his "country does not need nuclear weapons. They are needed only by people who want to solve everything through the use of force." He then went on to say, "Leaders who believe they can create peace for themselves by creating war for others are mistaken."

Tehran has always said it has the right under Article VI of the  — which the nation has signed but not ratified — to research nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.