Iran Strikes Defiant Stance Before UN Vote !

[Prinz Eugen]

Iran Strikes Defiant Stance Before UN Vote
By REUTERS
Published: April 30, 2006
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran renewed its defiant stance on Sunday, vowing to ignore a likely U.N. Security Council resolution against its atomic program and to strike back if it came under military attack.
U.N. ambassadors from the United States, Britain and France are expected to introduce a resolution this week to legally oblige Iran to comply with the council's demands, hitherto rebuffed by Tehran, that it halt all uranium enrichment work.
Failure to comply with the resolution could see Iran face limited sanctions, although veto-wielding council members China and Russia say they do not favor such a move for now.
But Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, said Iran would continue to defy the council.
``Iran will not implement any forced resolution,'' he said in speech to university students in Tehran.
``Iran's plan is to have research and development and the nuclear fuel cycle in Iran,'' he added, underlining Iran's determination to continue production of nuclear fuel in defiance of calls from the United Nations that it stop.
Iran's plan is to have research and development and the nuclear fuel cycle in Iran,'' he added, underlining Iran's determination to continue production of nuclear fuel in defiance of calls from the United Nations that it stop.
Western countries fear Iran could produce highly-enriched uranium for use in warheads rather than uranium enriched to the low level needed for power stations. Tehran says it has no interest in acquiring nuclear weapons.
Larijani's pledge to keep the fuel cycle in Iran ran counter to earlier remarks by Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi, who suggested there could be still be room to consider a proposal to move Iran's enrichment work to Russia.
Although Washington has said it prefers a diplomatic solution to the stand-off, analysts say U.S. hawks who see Iran's enrichment of uranium as a tripwire for military action may feel there is not enough time for diplomacy.
``We have thought about a possible military attack,'' Larijani said. ``What the leader said should be taken seriously ... If they want to harm us, we will harm them.''
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last week Iran would harm U.S. interests around the world if it was attacked.

SOURCE:http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world...=1&oref=slogin