Iran won’t drop its nuclear ambitions, says supreme leader

IRAN’S supreme leader and its president said yesterday that Tehran would not abandon its nuclear programme and rejected its referral to the UN Security Council as unjust.

Supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all state matters, told a group of clerics that Iran would not drop its nuclear ambitions, state television reported.

“Authorities are obliged to continue toward achieving advanced technology, including nuclear energy,” he said. “The people and the government will resist any force or conspiracy.”

He charged that Washington was looking for an excuse to continue what he called a psychological war against his country.

“This time, they have used nuclear energy as an excuse. If Iran quits now, the case will not be over. The Americans will find another excuse,” he said.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was similarly defiant in the face of mounting international pressure on Iran over its nuclear program.

“The people of Iran will not accept coercion and unjust decisions by international organisations,” Mr Ahmadinejad said during a visit to Iran’s western province of Lorestan.

“The era of bullying and brutality is over,” he added.

Just a day earlier, Iran threatened the United States with “harm and pain” as the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ended a three-day meeting in Vienna, Austria, over Iran’s nuclear program, formally opening the path to Security Council action.

The Security Council, whose action could range from a mild statement urging compliance to sanctions or even military measures, was expected to debate the issue next week.

The IAEA put the council on alert over the issue last month but delayed any action to give more time for diplomacy under an agreement by the US, Russia, China, France and Britain.

Washington is seeking harsh measures against Iran, but economic and political sanctions are unlikely because of opposition from Russia and China, which have strategic and commercial ties with Tehran.

Iran claims its nuclear programme is peaceful and only aimed at generating electricity, but an increasing number of countries have come to share the US view that Tehran is seeking to develop atomic weapons.